


Running Wild

by Klovar



Category: Brawl Stars
Genre: (including my April's fool's day joke chapter haha), And then I realised that nope it gets way too violent, Chimp language here- get your dictionaries ready, Gen, Gosh you guys must be so confused, I just realised when I went to check the descriptions that they have changed???, I meant for it to be for all ages so it's not very bad, I wouldn't say graphic descriptions of violence per se but there's still violence, Now that I think about it it might be kind of sad, This is it guys 25 chapters, and downright tragic in some chapters, but I don't think it can make you cry, but don't read it if you're sensitive, don't you dare think of ships, i think, it becomes a dark piece of work, it's not my fault they count all the silly unrelated chapters as chapters too..., just take note of that, no ships here, that's what I based the story off, they used to have different descriptions I swear, why do you think Colt's the sheriff or that there's a extended Junker family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2019-10-24 18:56:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 65,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17709719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Klovar/pseuds/Klovar
Summary: Nita has always been the odd one out. There are a few others like her, but they still do not come close to understanding her little problem. Desperate to stop hurting those around her, Nita attempts to isolate herself, but fails to do so. Now she is in a race to control herself, and perhaps, the new, mysterious resident might just be the key...Disclaimer: the content in this work is not affiliated, endorsed, or promoted by Supercell, and all the characters and content belong to their respective owners. I do not claim to be a part of Supercell, and I do not make profit off of this.





	1. Cover

<http://imgur.com/gallery/iGSDfe8>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this was supposed to be the cover, but when I tried to insert the image it wouldn't work. If you can see the picture, good for you. Otherwise, I'll have to trouble you to click on the link manually...


	2. Prologue

Imagine. A world of magic, a world of wonders, a world of love. Imagine. If you lived in such a world, what would you do?  
Not fighting, right? But that was exactly what everyone did. For in that perfect, magical world, for all it's glory, it was severely lacking in one thing. Actually, it was a lot of things. There was a general term for these things, though.  
Viable resources.  
All around their little town, there were lush, emerald fields of grass where animals grazed. There were deep green forests, and golden deserts. Despite this seeming abundance, there was a problem. They had no means to harvest these resources. The animals ran too fast. They had no blade to chop the trees for wood. They were stuck just staring at all that natural beauty. So they fought.  
They fought for glory, they fought for money, they fought for survival. They fought, for a lack of better terms, because there was nothing else.  
They fought to live.  
Now then, do not be alarmed. After all, this is a place of magic. The inhabitants are one with the land and it's magic. Death is of no concern. 'How is that possible?', you ask? Please, sit down and learn.  
The land is full of magic. It's inhabitants are, as mentioned, one with this magic, with a small part, maybe a quarter, of a different kind of magic. This different magic is their core, and what differentiates one of them from another. It gives them the shape of their form, their personalities, and the way they expel their magic. This forms types amongst them. Sharpshooters. Heavyweights. Throwers. Fighters. Healers. Assassins. Then, there is a single Skirmisher and Summoner.  
No matter what, they concentrate their magic either in it's raw form, or through a tool, such as a gun. Like all magic, once used, it takes time to restore. Large spells, generally called Supers, takes time or waste energy to build up. Each of their make-up is different, leading to different stats of health, damage output, range, spread and etcetera. Now that you understand a little more, here is the answer to your question. Core magic will inflict damage, taking away health. Over time, the magic will restore itself and the damaged inhabitant will 'recover health'. However, if the damage is too great and health reaches 0...the inhabitant dies. Now, don't panic, it is not permanent. The waste energy goes to building Supers, while the shattered energy will simply regroup after a while. It will combine back to reform whatever shape it took before. In simpler terms, they come back to life.  
This leads us back to the issue at hand. Everyone could live peacefully, but they don't. They fight. That is because all the excess magic forms Tokens, their means of survival. The Tokens are split among the participants, and the higher you ranked, the more you receive, naturally. Winning any event for the first time also deems an award of a Star Token, which simply forms naturally. A hundred Tokens forms a Box, which contains essentials. Ten Star Tokens form a Big Box, the Box's big cousin. Those with enough put up excess food for trade or sale, and everyone helps out each other. And hence, the community lives on. They really don't have a choice, you see.  
They fight to live.  
And they live to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go guys! The start of my (first) new Brawl Stars fanfic! If I were you, I would always read the notes over here. I might put some extra scenes or explanations here that don't fit in the story, but you should know. I'll do my best to update regularly....once..every two weeks? That seems realistic.  
> So! This is just a little teaser-preview. I was trying to reason out how Brawl stars work, being a game and all, and the sacarstic answer came into my head. Magic. Except I realised that was how you could explain it. I mean guns? Ok. Shockwave? ...not so ok. But magic? Now everything is justified. Now, mind you, I don't have a clear idea on how many chapters this will take, but I can tell you a rough gauge...in chapter one. Wait for it, guys! I promise it'll be good. Maybe.  
> Please comment any mistakes I made down below! Proof reading only works that well when you proof read what you wrote... Any questions, feedback, or stuff like that can be commented too! I'll try my best to answer questions as soon as possible, I swear!


	3. Chapter 1 - Bar Fight

Nita growled. She glared at anyone and everyone that dared look her way. She knew that she did not exactly look human, but still, that was no excuse to stare. Besides, with only 21 of them living in this town, everyone knew each other well. Riled up, Nita nearly tore off the door to the bar. She caught herself just in time. If she let her more bearish side take over and wreck the town....Colt would never let her hear the end of it. In fact, he would make her repair all the damage, and she was bad at repairing.  
"This'll be good!" a metallic voice suddenly declared. Nita snarled at the offender who dared be so cheerful before she could help herself. The chuckle that followed grated on her ears, but she bit back any noises. The bartender blinked at her in concern, before his eye resumed it's usual cheery arch.  
"Feeling down in the dumps?" he asked cheerfully. Nita snarled, deciding that it would be worth it to speak some choice words to Barley.  
"Agrrrrrry. Shut arrrrrrp, ya cheeryyyy arrrket ofrrrr oltssss." she snarled, doing her best to sound out the words properly. Unfortunately, having a powerful familiar like Big Baby Bear had some drawbacks. The day she had bonded to her familiar, she became partly bear, limiting what she could say. Instead, she could produce quite the range of snarls, growls, and crooning noises bears made. It made it difficult to convey what she wanted to say, since she could no longer properly sound out words, and what she did manage were far off and consisted of growls.  
"Angry. Shut up, you cheery bucket of bolts?" Barley repeated with a questioning tone. Nita nodded vigorously, snarling for good measure. The bar erupted in laughter, and someone howled," Rejecteddddd!!"  
Barley casually lobbed a bottle- his attack- in the insult's general direction, while calmly serving Nita Liquid Honey- a 75% honey, 23% water, 2% alcohol concoction- in a bowl. If she was more in control, she might have drank from the bowl like a civilized human being. As it was, she plunged her hand in and proceeded to lick it clean. She repeated this a couple more times before the action made her pause. Mildly embarrassed, she picked up the bowl instead. She twitched when Bull sat next to her, making the bar stool creak under his weight.  
Bull was a big, heavy creature. He had a big punk hairdo, and a gold ring through his nose, like his namesake. His arms were thick, his legs were thick, and even his neck was thick. He carried a large iron and wood contraption in his right hand casually, although Nita knew his gun weighed half a tonne, maybe. She could barely budge it, and she knew she did have a reasonable amount of strength. An iron band ran around his left wrist, and he made the perfect image of a punk, or maybe a criminal. The black jacket- with it's sleeves ripped off- over his white shirt, and the heavy boots on his feet just screamed one of the options. Really, Nita had to wonder whether he changed. She knew she did. It was just that her wardrobe was the same. She pulled her mind back to the present, and discovered that she had went back to licking her hand of her drink while she was thinking. Somehow, she had also managed to pull her legs onto the stool with her, so now she was crouched in a feral, bear-like position, one hand up to get more of the honey. She licked her hand clean before changing her position to a more normal sitting position. She picked up the bowl again and took another sip.  
"Oh. Yer back." a gruff voice commented. Nita whirled to face Bull, slightly mortified that he saw her acting that way. She had forgotten that he was sitting next to her.  
Now, everyone knew about her 'problem', and they accommodated her, and Bull understood her perfectly, but it was still mortifying. She could feel the rush of heat in her face, and hoped her dark skin would cover the blush. Bull narrowed his eyes and grunted, huffing and tossing his head.  
"Dun be embarrassed there. We half and half are in dis together," he muttered, eyeing her as he continued, "...though ah think ah got it better than ya." Nita rumbled in affirmation, butting her head against his arm. She ruefully wondered how red her face had been for him to pick up on it. After all, she thought, eyeing the hulking form, Bull was not known for subtilty. He just shot off whatever he was thinking, like he just did.  
He was right, though. Bull was, as his name suggested, part bull. His Super was to literally charge. His lowered his head and bulldozed his way through any and all obstacles. In that position, his hair seemed to be a bull's head, and Nita heard him snorting before. Of course, like he said, she would never judge. She knew she snarled and growled when she was attacking, too caught up in her bloodlust to talk.  
"Whart oou want?" she demanded, trying to get her point across in the least possible number of words. Bull took a moment before replying," Wanted to talk to ya bout teamin. De normal Event-Gem Grab. New map- Stone Fort. Ya want ta go?"  
This made Nita pause. She did want to go- she had been running out of Tokens for a long time. She had been drinking from rivers and eating plants, occasionally giving in to the urge to hunt. She roamed freely, only avoiding areas near Events. The areas for Events were unpredictable. They shifted and warped to different layouts every day, and were where the most Tokens spawned after battle. A bar fight yielded 5 Tokens, maybe, but a fight in Event areas could go up to 50. Since she had been determinedly avoiding the Event areas...  
The point was that Nita could use some Tokens. The self-appointed sheriff had not said a word, but she knew that he knew that it was her hunting down and eating the wild animals. He kept giving her looks, and Tokens conveniently turned up at her doorstep. Other residents gave her little bits and pieces, too, and sellers like Barley gave her free passes- like the honey she just got. While she could use some Tokens, she didn't dare fight. The last time she fought had been a disaster. She had stopped since.  
"Narr...durrrnt want too." she finally got out. Bull frowned. He turned his body towards her and narrowed his eyes, but did not slam the table. Yet. His next words were calm and reasonable. " Why not? Nita, yer been puttin off fightin fer so long. No one sees ya at Events. Ya reject any team offers. It's not good. Yer becomin more aggressive in yer daily life." Nita growled, unconsciously stiffening her hands into claw shapes. She gathered magic, ready to strike at him with her claws. Bull raised a bushy eyebrow, about to say 'I told you so', but she struck first.  
Nita lashed out with her arm, catching his face and throwing him off the stool. "Oou durnt tell mi what terr doouuu!!" she roared, agitated. She leant forward, putting her weight on the balls of her feet, bending her knees for better balance. Already, she was gathering magic for another claw strike. Only a small silver of human remained in her mind, and that was all that was stopping her from using her usual attack. If she did, she would tear up the floor since it was a shockwave , and the human part of her didn't want to wreck the bar.  
"Oh, you wanna brawl?" Bull gritted out. He had picked himself up and now stood ready with his gun. He snorted. "Bring it on, Bear!"  
That nickname snapped the last bit of restraint she had. She roared, the shockwave tearing through the floor and slamming into Bull. He grunted, hefting his gun and firing off a couple of shots. Nita ducked easily, falling onto all fours and staying there. She threw herself at her opponent, sinking her sharp teeth into his arm. The taste of the liquid magic sent her reeling- it was mildly sweet and salty, and sparks danced over her tongue. It was unlike the warm, slightly metallic taste from the animals she hunted. It was light and cool, and made her mouth tingle. But the best part was the little cry of pain Bull made in spite of himself, and the instant struggle he put up. He shook his arm, and tried to aim his gun at her without hitting himself. Finding the angle too awkward to reach with his gun, he tried to prise her off, and slam her against the wall to get her off. Nita was barely aware of it. She soaked in the bliss of the hunt, firmly holding on and slamming her prey with attacks using her hands. The ache of her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten yet, and she was more than willing to help herself to the magic pouring from Bull. She briefly thought that she might be killing him- his struggles were getting weaker - but the need for food pushed that out of her mind.  
"Halt in the name of the law!! Nita, you are under arrest!" a voice snapped her out of her lust for a brief moment. She released her bite hold and noted that Bull had fallen to the floor some time ago, and now lay prone, breathing heavily. She turned to look at whoever dared interrupt her meal. Instantly, her gaze locked on to her next potential prey. The self-appointed sheriff stood with his guns trained on her. Behind him, his rag-tag team blinked at her. The purple haired girl was inching to the left, while the eagle was moving to the right. Her instincts told her they were attempting to corner her, and she instantly feinted to the right, stopping the eagle. He looked at her carefully with narrowed eyes, bow up and arrow strung within seconds.  
"There is conflict in your spirit." he declared. Nita made as if to lunge, and he tightened his grip on his bow, shooting a warning shot. Warily, Nita backed up, returning to where her prey was. If she wanted to hunt the eagle, she would need surprise on her side. Eagles were nasty creatures, worse than the bull she was crouched next to. Except that the floor was bare, she noted.  
Nita snapped her gaze upwards to find that purple haired girl dragging her prey towards the door. With a snarl, Nita threw herself at the prey stealer. She was occupied dragging Bull, and was completely defenseless. Roaring a challenge, Nita called on her familiar, building the link and providing the much needed magic to form Baby Big Bear. The bear appeared in a flash of light behind the prey stealer. The prey stealer reached for her gun, whirling to face the bear. Back turned, Nita's shockwave took her by complete surprise.  
"Bear wit mi!" Nita snarled, and a green ball of energy slammed into her bear from her. The raw energy restored 300 health, and her bear's next attack returned the favor. Constantly attacking only served to restore any damage the girl managed to inflict, and she was wearing down. Nita snarled in triumph, ready to land the final blow, when a train of bullets slammed into her. The foreign magic depleted a large part of her health, and her bear was defeated by a volley of arrows. She could feel her bear's shattered energy returning to her, waiting for her to provide enough magic to form a body again. A second train of bullets all but killed her. She slumped onto her knees.  
"I said, you are under arrest, Nita. Stand down." Colt announced. She tried to hit the sheriff, but large, strong hands were grabbing her arms and pinning her down.  
"Welcome back ta de world of da living, Bull. Well done gettin owned by Nita, Bull. Good luck ever bein tough again, Bull." Bull muttered to himself above her. His health was full already, and even at full strength, she was weaker than him. Yet, the bear side of her wouldn't give in. She twisted and fought for all she was worth, until she had worn herself out. Without any fuel, she slowly returned to herself.  
And that was exactly what she came back to-Bull pinning her down, and Sheriff Colt pinning her with a withering glare. He raised an eyebrow, his ever present smile finally gone, and asked," Care to explain?"  
She gulped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put Bull in to be Nita's friend because I thought-why not? Bull is always portrayed as the villain, but I never play by the majority. Bull seems rough and tough, which he is, but I gave him a loyal personality. He just seems like that kind of person. Nita's like his little sister, not that he'll ever admit it, and he does care and look out for her. Then again, the whole village does, since Nita is still just a kid. She doesn't always do what is best for herself, or take care of herself well enough. She simply doesn't know better, and has no parental figure to help her with that either. At least, not anymore...(dun dun dun!!)  
> Anyway, Bull might lose his temper easily, and be pretty violent, but all in all, he loves Nita. And not in the ship kind of lovey dovey couple way! The brother sister kind of way. Ship them and I kill you. I swear this on my artist's honour. And, you know, artists always keep their word.  
> And, oops, I realised I didn't give you guys the rough gauge I promised you. There should be around 25-30 chapters. Not that long, but not exactly short, either. If I manage to keep on schedule, it means next year Jan to March...so, anyone wants to join me on my year long fanfic...?


	4. Chapter 2 - Running With Your Problems

Nita stumbled out of the Sheriff's house, turned out into the street, and promptly threw up into the drain. Colt had made her explain everything, and then lectured her on what she should have done. Besides being draining on her, now all she could think about was how she had hurt Bull. Sure, he wasn't exactly a nice, sunny kind of person, and he was fine now, but she had still hurt one of her few friends. The vomit left a familiar taste on her tongue that made her mouth tingle.  
She threw up again.  
"Whoa, hey, it's fine. Nita, it's fine, I'm fine, it's all good." Bull was suddenly beside her, petting her back awkwardly. She pushed him away firmly, staggering to her feet. She shook her head, wiping her mouth clean. He started towards her again, clearly intending on helping.  
"Durnt gat clowser. Stay bacc." Nita spat venomously. She scowled at her friend, disgust all over her face. "Ah'm a monstarrr." she shook her head, and turned away.  
"Yer ain't a monster. At least, ya aren't to me." Bull said calmly. Nita stared at him indecorously.  
"Arr bit oou." Nita pointed out. "So?" Bull shrugged. "Ya should see Crow when he finds a carcass ya left behind. He eats it, before realisin he let his crow git him. Or how I charge at red things sometimes. Including ya. I hurt ya before, remember? I charged ya, and I hurt ya. So ya bit me, and hurt me. Same same, Nita." Bull waved his hand horizontally near the end of his statement, as if to emphasize that it was the same, or to dismiss the argument. Nita wasn't sure which reason it was.  
"Arr drrank awrr magick." Nita protested, trying to make her point that it was not the same.  
"Magic restores itself. I'm fine." Bull easily put down the reason. "Besides... if we half and half don't stand together... who will stand wit us?" Nita growled. He didn't get it. He would get hurt again, and again, and again. She sort of wanted to kick some sense into that thick skull of his, but was too afraid that she would lose herself again. She always did. It wasn't like the others. Her trigger was impossible to avoid. Maybe the town could put anything red indoors and out of sight. Maybe Crow could just avoid carcasses- and really, no one actually managed to kill much. Even if they did, they would not leave it half eaten and out in the open. Bo was way too righteous to attack, Nita supposed. Besides, being a land bound human made it impossible to fulfill any eagle urges. As for Spike... Spike was a plant. Plants don't have killing urges or instincts.  
Which left her alone.  
Again.  
She sort of wished someone else who understood would come along. Yet, she definitely hoped that would not happen. Living with predatory urges based on emotions was difficult at best, and impossible at times.  
"Ah, Nita." Colt began, popping out of his house. He insisted it was his office, and he was just so hardworking he stayed in his office, but everyone knew that no one had time to build houses randomly. He began to continue his statement, but he never got to finish. Starlted, Nita lashed out in his general direction. Her fingers caught his arm, and the magic she instinctively gathered made four long cuts on his arm. Her fingers- no, claws- glowed with the residual magic, and she was already swiping at him a second time before she registered that she was attacking the sheriff. The momentum carried her arm to create another set of cuts, this time on the other arm.  
"S-shawiff??" Nita cried out in surprise. "Wharr arrr oou herr??"  
"I think the better question is why did you attack me?" Colt shot back, hissing in pain at the cuts. Nita blinked guiltily, hesitating before she answered,"Shaprishhd..." Colt sighed. Quickly, his eyes found Bull, and the puddle of vomit in the drain. He easily spotted the trail of vomit Nita failed to wipe away on her cheek.  
"...Go home. Come back to my office tomorrow. Bull, could I trouble you to escort Nita home? I believe that she may need some _assistance_." Bull blinked, before he apparently got the hidden message and agreed. "C'mon, Nit. That's it fer tonight." Bull muttered, placing a hand on her back and guiding her home. He made sure she entered her house and went to bed before leaving, and Nita could hear him settling outside to ensure she did not leave. Undeterred, she silently crept out of the window at the back- it was just a hole like all other windows. Within moments, she was out and running. If her guard heard any noises and came to investigate, she was not aware that he did. She just ran, and did not look back. She only stopped when she entered the forest, making sure no one had followed.  
From there, it was the same as it was every night. She let her bearish side take over and run itself dry. She slashed at trees to renew her marked territory. She slinked around, hunting for small game. She drank from the river, and curled up in her nest. The ground was hard and lumpy with tree roots. But finally, she was alone. Alone as she always was, and alone like never before. Alone, where she couldn't accidentally hurt anyone. Here she was Nita the Bear. And Nita the Bear didn't want to think about Nita Littlefoot's life. So she didn't. She curled up and slept.  
If her dreams were troubled, or if she woke up screaming and crying and trashing, well. No one knew. No one cared. No one helped. If she sobbed and sobbed, hoping against everything she wanted for someone to come and comfort her, well. No one heard. No one saw. No one came. If she stayed up all night, choking on her own breaths, numb and empty, thinking about her life that no one felt. No one understood. No one shared. Did it matter?  
She didn't think it did. Then again, as everyone kept telling her, she didn't know best. Could not take care of herself, did not do best for herself, would not do well by herself. They mollycoddled her, that's what they did. She was not a child by any means. She was as grown up as any of them, she was sure. Maybe she was a little younger, but she certainly was not at the age where she needed to be baby sitted. Nita rocked gently, staring at the sky. She knew she should get up and wash her face, but she was too tired. Besides, the sky was slowly getting lighter. It was morning. She could do it when she got up. She would have to get up eventually anyway. She needed to eat. After a moment, she realised that she could just skip eating for the day. She got up anyway to wash her face and to drink deeply, and then returned to the forest floor. She just wasted the day away. She idly toyed with the idea of moving and doing productive things. She imagined doing it, then simply dismissed it to toy with another idea.  
She got up again near noon to drink again, taking a walk to stretch out any kinks. Her legs were numb, and made her stumble before her stride evened out. She strolled without purpose, curiously heading in a direction with lots of noise. She sneaked closer and closer, wanting to know what the commotion was about. A fight? A mating? A competition for territory?  
Villagers.  
She stared at the sight uncomprehendingly. The villagers, her neighbours. Why were they here? The forest was her domain, her home, not theirs. They were moving awkwardly and with an utter lack of grace, destroying quite a bit- make that a lot- of vegetation in the process. Someone swore something extremely colourful and inappropriate, and there was a scattering of people shouting, "language!" There was no apology.  
"This ain't be workingggg," Penny whined. The pirate was short, wearing her usual ripped sailor's shirt- white and blue striped- and dark blue pants. She carried a chest slung over one shoulder, which Nita knew contained her trusty cannon- Old Lobber. It was a silly name, worse than Big Baby Bear, and Nita sniggered quietly.  
"Everything be hearing our noise from far away, and be runnin'. We're neva gonna git Nita," she complained. Nita froze, smile falling from her face at this information. Colt was saying something, but she wasn't listening.  
Hunted. The thought made her heart pump faster, and she held her breath as she listened for any more information she could glean. Penny had a disgruntled look on her face, and Nita knew Colt probably just told her off. The pirate had an ego a mile long and then some. She hated being wrong, or not being the best. Even a light chiding could get to her. She dutifully followed the group, however, and Nita had to admit Penny was firmly loyal. She always followed orders no matter whether she agreed with it or liked it.  
"The forest be huge," Penny was saying. "And it be foreign to us. Nita's git the upper hand 'ere." Nita smiled to herself. It was true, she had the upper hand. As long as she avoided a face to face encounter, she could get away. All she had to do was run all over the place, and move away from them. They were undeniably loud, and now she knew what they sounded like. It was all too easy to avoid them now that she knew. She mentally thanked Penny and her big mouth. Without that, she would certainly be caught by surprise. But now she knew better, she could and she would avoid them. She slinked away quietly.  
Game on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Anyone supporting this turn of events? I do! Then again, I'm the author...  
> Anyway! Nita is actually a child. She's the age of a kid whether she admits it or not, even if she may be more mature mentally than the average kid her age. Like all children, she believes she is fully capable of taking care of herself, and she can do better than the adults who want to mollycoddle her to death. Unfortunately for her, being one of the few children makes everyone a tad too protective...  
> Nita is wild and stubborn. She values freedom more than most things, and like all children, she hates the people she loves getting hurt. That's why she wants out, besides her wild spirit.  
> Nita is energetic and playful as well, and she can be quite the handful to take care of! She likes fish and deer, and adores bread. But she absolutely despises broccoli, and woe to the person who tries to feed her that! She enjoys mushrooms, berries, and roots as well. Generally, she is pretty gentle and patient, unless you make her do something she does not like, or is not comfortable with.  
> Fun fact: bears are not mean or malicious, as often portrayed in movies. They are actually quite friendly and playful, and fiercely protective of each other.


	5. Chapter 2.5 - Sleep

Colt worked feverishly over well, work. Poco had sent him home with stern orders to rest well, after the whole episode with Nita. But Colt did what Colt wanted to do, not what Poco wanted Colt to do. Colt smiled grimly, tweaking the list in front of him slightly, before moving on to the next section. He had to get this done, at least. Everyone was already heading home, and a few called goodbye to him. He answered distractedly, focus mostly on what was in front of him. It was the rotation watch list he planned to put Nita under. This would help ensure that Nita was taking care of herself, and that she would not run away.  
His stomach grumbled mildly, reminding him that he had not eaten, but used to skipping enough meals that he could do without. He ignored it for now, deciding that one more skipped meal never hurt anyone. Besides, he was pressed for time as it was, without stopping to eat. The grumble subsided within minutes, as if his stomach understood that it's appeal for food had been rejected. Colt kept working. He was barely halfway done. He had gotten the caretaker part done, but he still had to pair off everyone depending on their capabilities and how compatible they were with each other. His head was throbbing from either the exertion, or from overstraining himself. He decided it didn't matter.  
It was late now- or maybe it was early- but Colt was far from finished. As the self-appointed sheriff, he had to uphold his title and keep everyone safe and happy. And Nita running away was not good. She would only bring harm to herself. So he had to get her back, and make sure she would stay. He fitted Darryl, known for his patience, with Dynamike. The heavyweight could deal with anything thrown at him, so that was fine. He considered who to put Penny with- her personality was less than pleasant- when the answer came to him in a rather unfortunate form.  
"Colt." The word was smooth and cutting, breaking every semblance of concentration he had grasped. It also signalled that a very specific someone had found him. It occurred to him that Penny would go pretty well with this person. Still, any hope of stealth had just went straight out of the window, and he sighed as he turned to face the person.  
"Piper. Can I help you?" He asked politely, attempting to distract her from the fact that he was still working. They both knew it was futile, of course. Piper appeared every day to drag him to sleep, if he was still awake, and she would go to drastic measures such as tying him to the bed. He normally tried to avoid working late to prevent all that from happening, but this was important. He had to finish it, and to be frank he had sort of lost track of time. Piper, for her part, did not answer, walking over and inspecting what he had been working on instead. She leafed through the papers, eyes darting over it.  
"The rotation list? This is what you're working on, over your rest?" She finally asked. Colt shrugged, muttering a maybe, and studiously avoiding eye contact. He knew Piper was staring him down, and he had enough of that to last him a lifetime. As far back as he could remember, Piper would always stare him down whenever he did something wrong. It was a cold, unforgiving look, and it always made him feel very, very small. He nearly flinched when Piper put a hand under his chin, tilting his face to meet hers. He grimaced under the wrath of Piper, squirming in an effort to get away. No such luck.  
"You are going to go to bed, and you are going to sleep. And you will maintain that state for at least eight hours. Understood?" Piper demanded. Colt stared at her in disbelief. Eight hours? That was way too long! He started to protest, but Piper's grip tightened, and she repeated, "understood?" Her tone was as cold as ice, and left no room for argument. Colt had no choice but accept the fact that he would be stuck doing nothing for eight hours. At least he could continue planning, and get it out on paper after that.  
"By the way, it only counts if you fall asleep. Planning in bed is prohibited." Piper added. Colt gritted his teeth. Piper knew him way too well. Then again, he had grown up under her care. Pam couldn't possibly take care of everyone. It was Piper who raised him, taught him manners, and corrected him to have a good personality. It was Piper who fed him, praised him, and punished him. Even after he 'grew up', and became the town sheriff, she still made sure he was living well. Such as all the instances she dragged him to bed. Or all the times she had to remind him to eat. Or all the times she forced him to stop working before he ran himself out.  
Piper was always there. Sometimes he wondered if she had joined the police group solely to keep an eye on him. And now, Piper was here. Again. She steered him into the correct room, pushing him towards the bed gently. She settled into the chair beside his bed, there specifically for this purpose, and said no more. Colt reluctantly got into bed. Now that his mind was off work, he could feel that he was indeed tired. He was also hungry, and his stomach reminded him of that again. He ignored it, forgetting that he was not alone.  
"You have not eaten?" Piper asked. Colt did not answer, pretending to be asleep. Answering was not a viable option. Piper would absolutely destroy him for neglecting to take care of himself over work. At least being asleep was better. There was a short silence, and Colt thought that he might have actually fooled Piper when she stood to leave. He threw a celebration in his mind, celebrating the success of tricking Piper. It made him no less hungry, but he had skipped meals on multiple occasions. This was no different. He closed his eyes again when he heard footsteps, listening as Piper settled back into her chair. Her voice sounded right beside his ear when she spoke again.  
"I disapprove of lying, Colt." He jumped, and let out a cry as Piper's famous vice grip clamped around his ear. Maybe it was just famous to him. Either way, he flailed as Piper got her other hand on his other ear. He had forgotten how much it hurt, since it had been quite some time since he last misbehaved. There were a few golden rules he knew he should not break, and somehow Piper accurately called him out whenever he did. He all but screeched as Piper yanked, and she waited out his cries before she started on the verbal assault.  
"You do not lie to me, or anyone else. Big mistake number one. Honesty is a policy best followed, and you will not do otherwise! Number two. You will not neglect your health! You will eat three square meals per day, once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the night. You will also sleep at least six hours all at once per day. Do you understand?" Piper demanded. She glowered at him, and Colt could barely get out what he wanted to say under her glare. "Yes! Yes! I won't do it again!" He cried. Piper arched an eyebrow, hinting to him that there was something else he should be saying. He racked his brain, and then shouted, "sorry! I'm sorry!"  
Near instantly, Piper released her grip. Colt scrambled away, until his back was pressed against the wall, as far away as possible. He felt like a child all over again, quivering under Piper's wrath after doing something wrong, ears stinging, and the unwanted tears clouding his vision. He furiously rubbed away the tears, not wanting to cry.  
"Colt. Come here and eat." Piper called. He scooted closer slowly and reluctantly. He reached for the bowl, but a stern look from Piper reminded him not to eat where he was going to sleep. Instead, he slid to the floor right beside Piper, eating slowly. He poked around the bowl of porridge, occasionally taking a mouth or so, what appetite he had had gone. Still, he knew he would end up eating by choice or by force, and slowly depleted the bowl, spoonful by spoonful. He forced himself to eat, counting to ten before eating the next mouth, over and over. His mind rejected the food, but his body accepted it readily enough. He finished the bowl, and Piper insisted on washing it while he tried to sleep. It eluded him, a coy shadow that he badly needed, and chased relentlessly after. It finally came to him, and Colt fell to the darkness of sleep.  
He still hadn't finished that rotation list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. This is actually set right after chapter two, so I don't know why I'm only posting it now...to confuse all you people who don't read the notes, I guess. Not that you would know, because you don't read this...  
> Anyway, Colt used to call Piper Mother directly, and referred to her as Mommy with other people. He grew out of it, although he still lets it slip out sometimes. He has a complicated relationship with Piper, since she's his mother, but he's technically her boss, being the sheriff. He never quite dares to order her around, though.  
> Also, my headcanon is that Colt was a child before. Interestingly enough, Colt is a company that manufactures guns, from what I can tell. However, Colt is also the name given to young male horses, usually under the age of 4. The complicated dynamic of horse to human age ratios apart, Colt would be anywhere from 6 to 24(rounded down). So I just took the average, and therefore Colt had the age of 15/16. I would suppose that he would have become a hardworking, all out 'horse', as an adult, especially under Piper's firm rule, so here you have him!


	6. Chapter 3 - Catching up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS THANK YOU FOR THE KUDOS AND HITS!! I can't believe it, but 8 people left kudos on this, and 70 people read it. I know this is real cliched, but _thank you_ for all the support. It really means a lot to me, logging in to find that people have read it, and then liked it enough to leave me a piece of love. Thank you so very much. I love every one of you too! (despite never meeting you before)

It had been days. Nita made sure that she roamed even outside her territory, marking random trees to confuse anyone that tried to track her down. She was content to doze in the warm sun, and hunted regularly. She still scavenged for plants and roots, of course. A balanced diet was important. No longer bound by fear of others finding her, she took her time to finish what she had, and made sure to leave any remains far away to prevent Crow from finding her. The bird had an uncanny radar for leftovers. Sometimes, she wandered around, admiring the forest. Sometimes, she sat and watched the forest life going by. Other times, she slinked and stalked through the undergrowth. There was no longer any limit on when she should be human and when she could be a bear. When the urge to be a bear came she let it come, and when it was gone she could still choose to call on her instincts and stay a bear. It was a good life for her. Perhaps the local animals disagreed, but Nita was content. For once, she was happy. She could choose between her two mindsets. The best part was that no one she loved got hurt. If the price was living in the forest, well, it was not really a price for her. It was good, living in the forest. She heard voices calling her name before, but she always turned away. Once they realised they could not find her, they would give up and once they gave up, they would realise life was better. After all, with her gone, no one would inflict physical damage. She was the only one who had the urge to claw and bite, and Big Baby Bear's magic in her own made that all too real. Nita tried not to care that no one would miss her too much, but failed. Giving up, she slashed at the nearest tree and roared her frustrations at the sky. She felt a little bit better, so she let loose another roar. She attacked the tree again, snarling and growling. With one last slash, the tree toppled. Deprived of her punching bag, she roared in anger. She drew her arm back, punching it into the tree. Growling, she pulled her arm back to strike again.  
That was when she discovered she had a problem. Her hand was solidly stuck in the tree. Enforced by magic, her fingers had stabbed deep into the tree. Without the momentum of her swing, her fingers were now stuck. She growled with rising panic. She couldn't stay here! She was sure that her roars had alerted anyone searching nearby. They would be heading in her general direction to search for any sign of her. She had merely meant to take out her anger on the tree, and then move on. Except that now she was stuck, so she couldn't move. The roar bubbled in her chest, begging to be released. She tried to hold it in, but nearly a week of letting herself run wild had ruined any semblance of self-control she had. She roared her frustrations to the sky, snarling and tugging desperately at her hand. She sank her teeth into the wood, trying to dig her own hand out. The taste of the young tree was foul in her mouth, and she instantly spat everything out. She took some time and debated on whether it was worth it, subjecting her mouth to such a taste to potentially get out.  
That was when she heard the first shout.  
Dread coiled in her stomach, blooming into a deadly knot that made it hard to breathe. A whimper escaped her, and she started biting her hand a way out again. The taste was no better the second time, but Nita persevered. She knew that she was running out of time, and the taste would be worth it for her freedom. There was another shout. It was much closer, and she could clearly hear the noise from people running through the undergrowth now. Desperation pushed her to swing her free hand at the tree, hoping to cut her right hand free.  
Perhaps it was because it was her non-dominant hand. Perhaps it was because she wasn't really looking. Perhaps fear clouded her mind and made her miss. Either way, her claws dug through tree and flesh alike as she swung. Unprepared and caught off guard, she let out a howl of pain. Her hand was still stuck, and now it sported a couple of gashes. Already, the shouts were getting closer. People were crashing through the forest, obviously aware of her position now, and they were trying to get to her before she disappeared. She yanked on her arm again, but only managed to agitate the cuts. The pain flashed through her, and Nita crumpled to her knees. She was aware that she was making a keening sort of noise, and she could feel the tears spring to her eyes unbidden. She could stop neither.  
She pulled on her arm again, weakly, trying to get out even though she knew her efforts were in vain. Besides, she was well aware that she was too late. There was no longer any noises.  
"...get mi owt." Nita rumbled weakly, "Anresss oou camrr to krool mi." Silence.  
"Get me out. Unless you came to kill me. Is that right?" A familiar voice asked. Nita looked up to find everyone she had lived among. Barley had a dot for his eye, instead of it's usual happy arch, and Nita knew it was because he was worried. He cocked his head to the side and repeated," Is that right?" Nita inclined her head simply, too tired to do much else.  
"Why would we want to kill you? You aren't making a lotta sense right now." Pam spoke up. Her rough voice that carried a motherly tone completely destroyed any inner walls that Nita had built. It was Pam, Pam was talking to her, using a gentle tone as she- Nita shook her head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. She hesitated, tugging on her hand again to stall for time. Miraculously, her hand remained stuck. What a surprise.  
"Ah'm a monstarr!" Nita suddenly blurted. And with that, everything she had wanted to say came tumbling out. "Ah urt oou awl...an ah'm a burrdan barause ah'm too scarrrd to firrht!" She felt the first tear streak down her face. Bitterly, she snarled,"Ah durnt baorrng, and itsh. Nor. AIER!!" Nita threw her body towards her neighbours in a fit of anger. She was jerked back by her stuck arm, and instantly, the pain flared up, shooting up her arm. Caught off guard once again, she let out a cry of pain. She hissed as Barley began his repeat," I'm a monster! I hurt you all...and I'm a burden because I'm too scared to fight! I don't belong, and it's. Not. FAIR!! Am I wrong?" Nita took a moment before she shook her head, slightly thrown by the question in negative.  
"Nit, listen. We don't think yer a monster. Not any more than us anyway. Besides, ya know? Ah quite like taking care of ya. Gives me somethin ta do." Bull chuckled at his own statement, even as the crowd voiced their agreement. Nita didn't exactly believe them, but did humour them.  
"Wharrt oou want..rroam mi?" She ground out. Without giving Barley a chance to repeat what she had said, Colt replied, "For a start, I think you not running off to the forest to hide away is great. Also, if you could stop hunting and eat human food, that'd be great too. If you're so worried about paying, you can start fighting. Sounds awesome, right? Do we have an agreement?" Nita took a moment to run through all the requests before shaking her head. It did not sound awesome, and it wasn't. Running off to the forest was great. The forest was pretty and she could isolate herself. Hunting was just as great, and it helped quell her dangerous bear urges. As for fighting...now the last two times she fought ended up as a disaster. That was a definite no.  
"Alright, guys, she said no. This means Plan B." Colt declared. Crow had came forward and was now slowly cutting her hand out with one of his daggers. Barley handed her a bottle. Puzzled, she took a gulp from the bottle. One of the things she had missed was his famous drinks. She would not object to having some. The drink was cool and refreshing, filling her with energy. This seemed like they were going to try and support her while she lived in the forest. That did seem possible, and was Plan B material. Convince Nita to live as a human- fail. Alright, let Nita live as she wants and support her. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. As such, when Crow got her hand free, she did not instantly try to run. If they were going to support her anyway, there was no need to. One of the heavyweights- El Primo- was pulling her to her feet. He was tugging her in the general direction of the village.  
"...? Ret mi grou." Nita growled, confused. She pulled her arm free, starting back towards her home in the forest. Nearly everyone else was blocking the path. She stopped in surprise, and politely rumbled, "Ret mi rulgh?"  
"That ain't happenin' any time soon. You be coming with us to the village, choice or force." Penny spoke up. She wore a sharp grin on her face, leaning her weight on one leg casually, one hand on her hip, and her body language screamed 'I dare you try anything'.  
Nita narrowed her eyes, agitated. Was that Plan B? Forcing her back with them? If that was how they wanted to play, that was how she would play. She turned to the right and bolted, bunching her muscles to get up a tree. Except that her legs didn't really want to cooperate, and she ended up on the floor after a pathetic half step. Grunting, she tried to scramble to her feet. Her arms shook with the effort of pushing her body up, and then straight up buckled, leaving her back on the floor. Her second attempt to push herself up failed even more miserably. She only made an inch before her arms stopped cooperating. Her breathing picked up. What was wrong with her? She tried to move her legs to get up without her arms, but the moment her muscles tensed, they instantly relaxed against her will.  
Someone was coming up beside her. She attempted to turn her head, but even that failed. She was completely helpless as the person scooped her up, carrying her bridal style. She blinked slowly at El Primo. She started to growl at him, intending on giving him a piece of her mind, but her mouth wouldn't work either. It hung limp, and she only managed to produce a weak rumble from deep within her chest.  
Penny's face suddenly popped into her line of vision. The pirate was snickering, and there was a cocky tilt to her head. Even her voice carried a smug tone as she declared, "Told ya, didn't I? You be coming with us by choice or by force. Ye like the force method? I don't think so, Teddy." Nita mustered enough strength to let out another weak rumble. It was meant to be a snarling growl, but she was lacking the use of certain muscles to create that particular noise right now. Penny chuckled again, slipping out of view. The rest of the trip was made in silence.  
It was a tense trip. She was passed to Frank sometime on the way, when El Primo was tired, she suspected. Frank held her awkwardly for about a minute, before passing her to Bull, offering to carry his gun instead. Bull carried her for the rest of the trip, although he actively avoided eye contact. He was probably mad with her, making his life hard by running away.  
She was put into her bed, and Bull hightailed it out of there. Ricochet came in and firmly tied one of her wrists to the headboard, preventing her from leaving. That night, the moment her muscles came back online, Nita tried to untie her hand, and when that failed, she slashed at the rope with her other hand, now free and ready to move out. But the deputy sheriff was suddenly there, and pushing her back on her bed, retying her wrist to the headboard. He eyed her as he secured the other hand too, leaving her stuck for real. She made his job as difficult as she could, thrashing and snarling. When he managed to secure her anyway, she made sure he didn't get any peace, roaring her displeasure until he returned.  
"You do not make this easy." He informed her flatly, producing a cloth. She eyed the cloth warily, having an idea of where this was going. No matter how she turned, or how she snapped her teeth at him or the cloth, Ricochet still managed to effectively gag her.  
"Good night." He sighed, turning away even as she tried to make any loud noises. Everything came out muffled, barely loud enough to be heard, until she gave up trying, simply lying in bed. Her position was awkward, and the ropes were chaffing her wrists. Her arms were beginning to hurt from the angle they were twisted at. Her mouth ached in it's awkward position, but she couldn't move it.  
She was utterly miserable.  
Home sweet home indeed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm. Whatever could Nita have been thinking about before she cut herself off? Whatever could have caused it, I wonder. Well, I think you will find out sometime later...long, long, long, long later. Unless you read in between the lines, be a detective and piece everything together to get the rough idea from chapter 7.  
> You might realise that some characters aren't quite what you visualise them to be. Firstly, that would be because that it's my interpretation. Since it's a small scaled story in a small scaled fandom, I'm always open to suggestions! Especially for those without a voice yet, because the voice, tone and words give a very clear idea, and I can't write about something unknown. I will just smoke something, so ideas are always welcome to contribute to voiceless characters!(Cough cough Leon cough cough).  
> Also, I would like to say I support this chapter very much. Plot building is important. And I know I said that I would put extra bits of story in here, and I actually have something, but I have a feeling it's not going to fit...instead, I will post another chapter after this that is an extra bit of juice, that will be updated outside of the two week frame. In other words, the extra chapter won't be posted two weeks later. Maybe next week?  
> Yeahhh. Next week. But I ended up moving it to before this chapter to get the context right, so this no longer makes sense. But I'm lazy to delete it. Instead, have this awkward message.  
> Once again, please comment any errors down below! I try my best to proofread it, and I write ahead to ensure the content makes sense, but I am not some super all knowing person. To be very frank with you, I have just finished writing chapter 14, and will be starting on chapter 15. It's a 11 chapter buffer in case I'm too busy to write, and to get the context right. But for all you loyal fans who reads this(come on, who does?), have the title of the next chapter: break in. I would like to say that my titles generally have some sort of link to the content. Still, we could it mean...?(no thievery was made in the production of this story)


	7. Chapter 4 - Break In

When Bo came to release her the next morning, she was severely disappointed. She had hoped Ricochet would be on duty, so that she could get a couple of hits on him for revenge. Nevertheless, Bo was a favourable and welcome face. Nita leaped at him the moment he released the ropes, instantly regretting her decision. Her arms had gone numb sometime during the night, and the sudden movement created a pins and needles sensation. The pain in her wrists made itself known for daring to use the wrist joints, and her body ached in general from being in an awkward position. She crashed to the floor, unable to sustain the position she needed to maximize the leaping distance.  
Now her face stung.  
She pushed herself up with a groan, taking note that all her struggling against the ropes had made the skin peel off, and liquid magic was dribbling to the floor. The pin and needle sensation still assualted her arms, seizing them in an unforgiving grip that hurt badly. Since she no longer had surprise on her side, and she was in no condition to attack anyway, she reached up to remove the cloth that had gagged her for the night. She moved her jaw around, working some of the soreness and tension out of it. Everything hurt, and she blamed Ricochet all the more for it. Someone picked her up, simountanously keeping her from making a move.  
"You lose!" El primo declared. Nita snarled in anger, knowing she stood no chance of getting free- heavyweights were notoriously strong. But he could at least let her stretch after her long night captive in her own bed. She struggled to get free, kicking and flailing, not because she hoped to get free but because she could.  
"And of course I walked in to this." Another voice groaned. Nita directed her glare to the sheriff. "...because things are never easy, ohhhh noooo, it's got to be as difficult as you can make it." He sighed again, before he seemed to pull himself together.  
"Alright. Nita, you and I need to have a little talk. We put you under a rotation watch. Firstly, to take care of you. Secondly, well, to make sure you don't run away. We are going to need your cooperation, you not attacking anyone, and you not running away or hunting." He listed, counting on his fingers per item. Nita snarled and shook her head vigorously. The sheriff cracked a half-smile at her reaction. "Right, I knew you'd react like this. As barbaric as this is, we got Jessie to create a cousin of her shock rifle. It's smaller but meaner, so to speak, and we will use it if you make a dangerous move- to yourself or others."  
Nita didn't take well to that threat. The moment El Primo released her, she lunged at the sheriff, more or less functional by now. He aimed a small rectangle at her, pushing the button. The electric ball was small and fast, giving Nita no time to dodge. She instantly discovered the difference. The shock rifle's shot was made to bounce and hit multiple targets. It only delivered a pulse of electricity before moving on to it's next target. This one did not bounce. It hit it's target, and without the need to keep it's shape or conserve it's energy, it delivered a larger dose of electricity. She trembled from the shock, stumbling the moment she was released from the electricity running through her body, panting despite the lack of exertion. Colt was still aiming the rectangle at her, even as he checked her over. She glared at him, but made no move against him. That was not an experience she was keen to repeat.  
"...oou wirn." She growled reluctantly. She backed away from the sheriff slowly, keeping her eyes on the rectangle warily. He shrugged at the admission, pocketing the device and pulling out bandages. Nita instantly honed in on the advantage, but the shock ripped through her anyway. She stared at Colt's empty hands- minus the bandages- in confusion, turning when he gestured to something behind her. She instantly found another taser in Bo's hands. There was more than one, apparently. It was highly likely that everyone in the sheriff group had one. Colt, Ricochet, Piper, Shelly, Bo, Tara and Spike. She made a mental note to avoid these people as far as possible.  
While she was furiously thinking and planning with her limited knowledge, Colt started wrapping her wrists up, stemming the flow. Physical damage inflicted by physical means would not heal as per usual, for some reason. Only physical or magical damage inflicted by magical means would heal. It was extremely annoying.  
"Well, anyway, I'll be taking my leave. Bo, El Primo, make sure she gets to Barley, okay?" Colt called over his shoulder as he left, apparently done with the wrappings. Bo never took his eyes off her, so she returned the favour.  
"Let's go!" The heavyweight surdenly barged in between them, breaking their little staring contest. He spun her around and herded her out of the door. She knew that Bo had to be right behind, but his footfalls were silent. She idly wondered how fast the shock ball moved, and whether she had enough time to run before it came. She unconsciously shifted to a fighting position, ready to take off. She could out run the heavyweight, but perhaps not the shock ball. Then again, that depended on how far back Bo was. She took exactly one step in preparation to run, and something jabbed into her back. She stiffened.  
"I would not advise taking the leap you are about to take." Bo murmured quietly. He was right behind her, and now she understood the thing poking into her was the taser. It was pressed harder into her back, making it's presence clearly known, as Bo continued,"I hope you will not force my hand to use this, Nita. Now, to the bar, if you would please." She really didn't have a choice here. She moved towards the bar, and the pressure of the taser eased up. She nearly forget that Bo was behind her, but now that she was aware of it, she could hear the near silent steps he took. He seemingly materalised beside her, taking the neighbouring seat once they were in the bar. Surprisingly, El Primo left, instead of hovering over her other shoulder. Now it was just her and the eagle.  
"New customers!" Barley declared, setting the usual bowl of Liquid Honey in front of her. Well, them and the bartender. She concentrated on the drink, less than keen to look at Bo. Specifically told that she could not hunt or go to the forest left her feeling pent up. She jabbed at the drink with her hand, roughly licking it off, and repeating the action again. Despite ignoring him, he still slid a plate of food towards her. She ardently ignored it until Bo spoke up.  
"Eat. You need sustenance." She finally looked at him in annoyance. He couldn't be seriously ordering her to eat! His face was serious when she looked at him, though, and he gestured at the plate calmly. She scowled. She growled out something like 'no', but it was hard to talk when she was so mad, and likely even harder to understand. He seemed to get the idea anyway, likely reading her body language.  
"Eat." He repeated, and the hand holding the taser adjusted itself. "I need your cooperation at this moment to keep yourself nourished." Nita got the subtle hint he dropped. Colt had told her that she needed to cooperate, but she could eat when she was hungry, and she could eat what she hunted. Then again, there was the clear, underlying threat of the impending shock if she refused. Once again, she didn't really get a choice. She pulled the plate closer, sorting through the contents. She noted that Bo slightly relaxed his grip on the device at her apparent cooperation. She started picking out the mushrooms, dropping them in her honey bowl, mildly amused by Bo's disgusted face. She casually stuffed some greens into her mouth, watching Bo's face twist further at her lack of manners. She carefully placed all the berries in a pile on the plate, finishing off the vegetables as she worked. Now she had a pile of berries, and a pile of meat. She did want to eat the meat, but it was cooked, and what she wanted was the raw stuff. She dumped the berries into the honey bowl, now thoroughly amused by Bo's reaction. Then she slid the plate back to him. He was surprised, she could tell. Perhaps he thought that she was saving the meat, but he certainly had not expected her to return it to him.  
"One must have a balance in all things." He told her, pushing the plate back to her. Frowning, Nita snarled, "Durnt want thart." He tensed, obviously expecting her to lash out at him, taser at the ready, but Nita simply turned back to her honey bowl. She started on the mushrooms, savouring the taste and chewing slowly to make them last. He slid the plate towards her again, once again telling her, "Eat." Nita ignored him.  
"Do not force my hand," Bo warned, narrowing his eyes. In response, Nita shifted away from him by one seat. She glowered at him with obvious contempt. She could see the way he tightened his hold instantly, but she could care less about the shock anymore. She was mad, and was building her own magic in response to the threat. A low growl rumbled in her chest, and the bar quickly fell silent as customers turned to watch the stand-off between Nita and Bo.  
"Now, then, let's not get hasty..." Barley started, approaching cautiously. Nita's shockwave interrupted him, tearing through the floor and slamming into Bo. He instantly activated the device in his hand, but now that she knew what to expect, she ducked to the right to dodge. She ran for the exit, expecting the taser to have a reload timing. What she wasn't expecting was for El Primo to appear in the exit. He effectively blocked her escape, and by the time she began to back track, Bo was already on her. The shock was stronger than the previous ones, and Nita trembled, hand twitching, before the shock left her. She collapsed on to the floor, her legs unable to support her. The heavyweight picked her up and put her back on her seat, leaving once again, except Nita now knew that he was just outside, waiting to stop any potential escapes. The other customers were muttering amongst themselves, obviously discussing the taser that they had just seen in action. Their voices were hushed and quick, obviously concerned over the usage of it.  
"Eat." Bo told her quietly. She raised her head to meet his gaze, and saw him turning a knob on the side of the taser. She determined that that controlled the output, and then simply took the plate and ate. The pain of the shock was still fresh in her mind, and she was in no hurry to revisit that. Once a day was more than enough, and already she had earned herself three. She pushed the now empty plate back to him, perhaps with a little more force than necessary, and continued with her honey bowl of goodness. Bo made her eat again sometime after noon, and then to take a bath during the afternoon.  
"You stink." Barley unhelpfully contributed. He hadn't done much as her supposed caretaker so far. Then again, she supposed that only the threat of the taser could really motivate her, and it was Bo who held the device.  
"And I brought you a new set of clothes," he added. Nita blinked, surprised. He really had a new set of clothes- he must have went down to her house to take them. She reached for them, but Barley held them out of her reach with his superior height, chiding her gently for trying to dirty her nice, clean clothes. He set them in the bathroom with a towel, and showed her how to lock the door. After that, she was alone. Of course, Bo was right outside the only window. What a surprise. She scowled at him, and drew the cloth across the window to give herself some much-needed privacy. Especially from Bo. She was starting to hate his constant presence after a short half day, and wondered how she could possibly handle the rest of the day. Then again, she didn't have to worry about that now. She carefully removed the bear head, instantly feeling naked. The paw scarf went next, and she felt Big Baby Bear protest. She internally hushed him, taking off her necklace, and then her clothes. She turned on the water, crooning happily at the feel of the water. She scrubbed herself clean, soap and all, letting herself croon and rumble happily at the feeling of a bath. Washing off the soap, and watching the dirty water whisk down the drain felt good, and she let out a pleased hum. She reached for her necklace, scrubbing that clean as well. The next item on her list was the paw scarf. She let her magic build the link with Big Baby Bear, calling on his magic explicitly to help cleanse the dirt out of it. He was the only one who could clean it- manual means were messy and she couldn't use the magic that he did. The magic flowed through the fur, leaving it with a glossy finish. She set it back down carefully, picking up the bear head to let the magic work through that. Once it was clean again, she patted the necklace dry, and then wiped herself dry too. She easily shrugged herself into her robe, necklace immediately reclaiming it's usual place. The paw scarf came next, and finally, she set the bear head on her own.  
She was admittedly curious as to what the commotion outside was about. It had started a little while ago, but Nita had ignored it in favour of her cleaning. Perhaps a bar fight? That was likely. Now that she was complete again, she picked up her dirty garments, making a note to herself to draw the cloth over the window back. She opened the door, half occupied in folding up the garment, not really paying attention.  
"Halt in the name of the law!" Someone shouted. She blinked in surprise. Colt was there- again- with Shelly. Both were armed with the taser, which was aimed at her. She blinked at them in mild disbelief. Was a bath illegal now, too? She had done no wrong, so she just raised her hands in surrender, questioning them with her gaze. The sheriff was inching to the side to peek beyond her, into the bathroom. He stared at the empty room for a moment.  
"Where's your bear?" He asked, suspicion lacing his voice. Nita wondered why they would think she had summoned her familiar- she didn't even have enough magic to call him out. Besides, she had wasted quite a bit of magic, holding the link open for such a long time in order for her familiar to clean-oh. Oh. Nita couldn't help the laugh that came bubbling out of her mouth.  
"Narr...nar bear..." She snickered. Really, they were pretty funny sometimes. Colt frowned, obviously not sharing her humour.  
"Creanin." She elaborated, gesturing at the accessories on her head and shoulders. Colt still seemed less than convinced, so she offered," Souw oou?" He nodded sharply, taser still trained on her with one hand. The other hand now held one of his guns, angled at her too. Moving slowly, Nita messed up the fur near the end of the paw scarf. She even bent down to stick up dirt, thoroughly dirtying the tip. Then she built the link, calling on her familiar's magic. She touched the dirty area lightly, letting Big Baby Bear work his magic through the fur, cleaning it again. She let the link crumple as soon as he was done. Frankly, she was running low on magic, and the little display didn't help. At least she had proved her point. Colt looked way less suspicious of her, and slightly guilty, and had pocketed the taser. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead of some smooth response he normally produced, what came out was an uneloquent, "opps". Nita roared with laughter at the response.  
"I told you she wouldn't summon her bear," Barley piped up, striding forward. Grateful for the trust he had in her, Nita nuzzled him, rumbling in appreciation at him. He rested a hand on the top of her hat, returning the affection, and Nita crooned at him.  
"How adorable," Shelly cooed, and Nita abruptly pulled away. She could feel her face flushing- it was red, she just knew it. Bo was in the crowd, for some reason, and even he had a smile on his serious face. She buried her face in her hands, letting out an embarrassed whine, before realizing that just made it worse. Any noise she made, except for when she was angry, could be counted as cute. She made a bleating sort of growl in dismay, digging herself deeper and deeper into the problem she created. Her emotions were running wild and deep, and she could not stop herself from making the noises the bear side of her wanted to make.  
"Back up, back up! Back to your seats, please!" Barley shouted, taking pity on her. He dispersed the crowd easily enough, even shooing the sheriff out of his bar.  
"Arnk oou..." Nita murmured. The bartender chuckled, steering her back to her seat as well. She was mildly disappointed that he left, but she supposed that he had to tend to the customers. She pillowed her head on her arms, regretting that she allowed the bear side of her to come out again. She stayed there, pondering over what she could have done, until someone tapped her shoulder. She looked up to find another plate of food right beside her. Her eyes slid to find Bo sitting next to her. He gestured at the plate calmly, but she didn't feel like eating. She turned away, returning her head to her arms. Bo tapped her on the shoulder again, but she ignored it.  
"Your spirit is uneasy. However, your body needs nourishment. No matter how long it takes to finish the food, you must eat." Bo's voice whispered into her ear. She firmly ignored him. There was a short pause before he spoke again. "I admit the other side of you is endearing, but that will not stop me. I have a job, and I will fulfill it. Do not test me on this, Nita." This time, there was a hard edge to his voice, and the ever present threat loomed over her. She sat up slowly, turning to give Bo a death glare. He met it with a firm stare of his own. Already, the last dregs of her embarrassment was fading, replaced by the familiar anger.  
"Durnt teir mi whart to dou," she hissed. She began to build an attack, the magic curling around her hands as she peeled her lips back in a snarl. The shock was a surprise, since she did not see Bo move. He brought out his hand from a blind spot, pointing the taser at her more openly. Despite wanting to avoid another shock, Nita was angry, and her need to strike the eagle overpowered everything else. She gathered magic again, subtly, and glared at Bo. She reached for the plate anyway, making Bo think that she had given in. She broke her glare to sort through the contents of the plate. He turned back to face forward, keeping an eye on her, and Nita took the chance to strike. She was well aware that she would get shocked again. She was well aware of the consequences. She didn't care. Her arm darted out to slash at Bo, taking advantage of the situation and pressing her attack. She sank her teeth into his arm, shaking her head slightly, instincts telling her to stun her prey. Bo hissed at the assault, fumbling to pick up the taser. Nita had attacked from the right, forcing him to switch the taser to his other, clumsier hand. Nita used this time to slam her body against his, toppling him off the chair and falling with him. She let go briefly, trying to take control of the taser. A bottle shattered against her back, stopping her in her tracks. The shattered glass disappeared harmlessly, but the liquid burned, and it was sufficient to distract her for a few precious seconds. Bo flipped them around in that time, so that he was above her now. Narrowing his eyes, he touched the taser to her arm, and Nita saw him turning the knob.  
The pain that followed was agonising. It stole her breath and made her spasm. The white-hot agony ripped through her and left after what felt like an eternity. She gasped for breath, trembling from the experience, and her eyes felt moist. Bo was now standing over her, and the damage she had inflicted was slowly repairing itself.  
She picked herself up, wincing at the feel of her sore muscles. That was one deadly charge. She settled back in her stool, Bo watching her the whole time, and started to eat without him prompting her. He sat facing her, taser at the ready, eyes never leaving her.  
He was still watching her when she went to bed, taser still humming, eyes still tracking her every movement.  
She fell into an uneasy sleep only in the early morning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! Guys, I'm so sorry!! I'm not lagging behind, I swear. It's just that I put up the chapter, and I _forgot to click the post button-_  
>  ANYWAY, go Bo! I was far, far, farrrrrr away from even dreaming of getting him when I wrote this chapter. But now, well, I can't exactly say that when I'm playing him. With his voice over, it's pretty obvious that he's noble and righteous and has awesome values. I went on to make him patient and tolerant, the slow to anger kind of guy you want to be friends with. He's sharp and observant, of course, and wary once provoked, and the eagle in him actually does play a big role, influencing him in a number of ways. Take note that it is Nita's point of view written here...  
> Barley, on the other hand, is more outgoing and friendly. He has a sarcastic side to him, as shown by his voice over, and is a pretty cheerful guy. He likes children, but doesn't quite know how to handle them. Still, he enjoys their company, and does his best to accommodate them whenever possible.  
> El Primo was the hardest to write. I had to change his speech, and hence the story flow at least thrice. I can't seem to capture a fixed personality. I can't pin him as being confident, or being crazy, or anything. He's just that guy who poses and screams stuff in another language, or drags out his name. I _can't_ get a good grip on his character, which sucks. Any and all suggestions are more than welcome. I beg you to give them to me. Please!


	8. Chapter 4.5 - Temper

"I quit." Colt spat out the water that had been in his mouth in a spray, coughing right after that. He wheezed for breath, taking a couple of deep breaths and managing to calm down after a minute or so. He took a sip of water.  
"This is why," he sighed, "I keep telling Shelly not to yell for me. I'm going deaf. Can you say that again?" Colt refiled his cup, gulping down more water.  
"I quit," Bo repeated, louder this time. Colt spat out his water again, choking. He wheezed again, and Bo felt obliged to pat him on the back to help the coughing. Colt finally looked up, blinking at him owlishly.  
"You quit," Colt said slowly. There was a disbelieving tone to his voice.  
"I quit," Bo agreed. He hoped he sounded calm, unlike his raging emotions. Colt stared at him, and he dropped his gaze slightly, unable to look the sheriff in the eye.  
"But you like your job," Colt sounded bewildered, "right?" Bo inclined his head. He did enjoy being the protector of the village, even if there wasn't much to protect them from. It was a righteous and noble cause, and he respected that. He would provide his aid where needed an when needed for this cause. But he couldn't do this. He just couldn't. Colt suddenly let out a bark of laughter.  
"Oh, I get it. You're pranking me. Ha, ha, very funny, you got me," Colt grumbled.  
"I was not," Bo replied. He never pranked people, although the reverse couldn't be said to be true. He didn't remember how many times he had ended up on the laughing end of someone's prank. He always graciously forgave the offender, but then he would wind up as the victim of the next prank in a day or so and the cycle repeated itself over and over.  
"Then why?" Colt protested, "did you find a better job that you like better? That's it?" Bo shook his head once.  
"I cannot continue down this path," he said slowly. It pained him to no longer be able to help out, but it pained him to help too. He couldn't do this to anyone, let alone a child. He closed his eyes, bowing his head slightly.  
"Forgive me, but this is where I stop." The silence stretched on.  
"...it's the taser, isn't it?" Colt asked miserably, slumping into the nearest chair and burying his head in his arms. Bo nodded, even though Colt couldn't see it, but he knew the sheriff knew. It was a great burden, especially on one so young. Him quitting had to be a huge setback and demoralizing, too. But he couldn't do it again. He just couldn't.  
"But there isn't another way, you know that, right? If there was I wouldn't do this," Colt half sobbed. Bo sighed quietly. He knew there wasn't another way, but at the same time, he just couldn't do this. He still remembered how merciless he had been in shocking Nita into submission. He still remembered how her mouth had been open in a silent scream for mercy, and her stubborn refusal to cry. He had done that. He made her suffer through that. The first time he hadn't known what to expect, but the last time had been out of spite and fury. He had let the moment get to him.  
"She is a child," Bo reminded Colt, _who he had inflicted his own selfish anger on_ , he thought, but did not say. Colt hunched up further.  
"I know. Stop making me feel worse. It's my turn tomorrow," Colt mumbled, just a hint of resentment in his voice. He hunched up further, mumbling, "what's so bad about it?" For a moment, he wondered if he could edge his way out of the question, but ultimately decided that Colt deserved the truth. He gave a thorough and full report, voice steady throughout. He would not break under the pressure. He refused to. Colt looked up sometime during the report, and now he just looked exasperated.  
"You're blaming yourself over that, when she attacked you first?" Colt demanded. He sighed, propping his head up with one arm shaking his head slightly.  
"Sheesh, you're too uptight," Colt mumbled.  
"And you are not taking this seriously. Nita is a child, and whether she is at fault or not, we should treat her with care," Bo said snappily. He regretted his tone instantly, taking a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. Colt glared at him.  
"In case you've forgotten, it's wasn't me who thought this was a good idea," Colt replied testily. Bo tried his best to remain calm. He would not succumb to anger a second time in a day.  
"Then you are a fool to trust a child," he finally said. There was a flash of hurt across Colt's face, then his face hardened. The sheriff got up, standing as eye to eye as he could manage.  
"At least she's smarter than you," Colt hissed. He struggled to keep his composure in the face of the insult, ultimately holding out.  
"In any case, I quit, Sheriff," he tipped his head forward slightly in a small bow. He turned, striding out of the room before something else happened that made him lose his calm. He had to pause anyway, since Shelly was currently blocking the doorway. She leaned casually against the frame, arms crossed, and most definitely barring both entry and exit.  
"What d'ya think yer doin'?" The shotgunner's head was tilted down slightly, but she looked up at him to compensate it. It looked like an uncomfortable position to be in, but it gave her a calm yet scary aura. No doubt the effect she wanted. Or maybe it was her natural aura that gave her that sharp edge.  
"Awa-"  
"Killin' moral, dat's what," she interrupted, voice flat, looking away.  
"I don't-"  
"What d'ya think de others'll say?" Shelly snorted, interrupting him again. Bo tried not to be too irritated by it.  
"Nothi-"  
"Bo, de calm, collectad person. Even he couldn't do eet, huh? How could I?" Shelly said bitterly, interrupting him yet again. That aside, she did raise an interesting point. A good point, too. It was unusually insightful, on her part. Shelly was usually the slowest one to catch on.  
"I-"  
"Ye _what_??" Shelly shouted, whipping around to face him. Her eyes blazed with barely contained anger, fists clenched, and she was still blocking the doorway. There was something wild and desperate about her pose, like a cornered animal, but the anger strongly contradicted that.  
"Let me finish!" Bo shouted back, irritated to no end. Shelly kept glaring, but she settled back down slowly, jerking her head swiftly to indicate he continue.  
"I cannot continue, but that is not to say others cannot. They can look up to the sheriff himself," he sighed, his anger dissipating. Shelly scowled.  
"That's what ye _say_ , but..." Shelly trailed off, mouth set in an angry line. Bo waited patiently for her to continue, so he could be on his way.  
"...ye git no guarantee, d'ya? If ye leave, 'nd one by one we all leave, den what? Ye'll crawl back sayin' _sorry_?" She spat, venom in her voice at the last word, as if she was belittling it. She was really getting on his nerves.  
"You cannot guilt me into staying," he growled. Just like Nita would. The thought sent a pang through him. He still could not believe he did that to a child. Shelly grabbed him by the two corners of his jacket, jerking him forward and downwards in a split second. It was little wonder he lost his balance, and he couldn't regain it when he was stuck in such a weird position either.  
"Ah don't care," Shelly hissed, "what ye think." She slammed him against the nearest wall, knocking the breath out of him, making his ears ring. He didn't remember when was the last time she got so angry or violent, frankly.  
"Shelly, stop it," Colt interjected. He tried to pry Shelly away, but she pushed him away none too gently. He didn't seem deterred.  
"Shelly, come on, you can't force him to stay, can you?" Colt pointed out reasonably, attempting to remove Shelly again. Shelly turned to give him a murderous look.  
"Stay outta dis," she growled, or I'll make you, her face said. She shoved him away roughly, and there was a dull thump. Either Colt gave up after that, or he was lying dead to the world somewhere on the floor.  
"You cannot do this, you are supposed to be keeping peace, not creating chaos," Bo said urgently. Shelly's mouth twisted into a bitter smile at that.  
"Oh, ah see," she laughed, "ah can't, but ye can!" Her face was set in a angry frown, but the smile never left, when she turned to face him more fully. He could feel her fist shaking from clenching it too hard.  
"I am not-"  
"Aren't ya? Ye leave, we all do, yer precious Nita runs off ta kill herself in de forest, 'nd what den?" Shelly laughed again. It wasn't really a happy laugh, though. It sounded like for once, she was on the brink of breaking under the stress, and she was laughing just so she wouldn't cry. He had never heard Shelly sound like that.  
" _What den_?" Shelly screamed, and he flinched.  
"That is the worst case," he pointed out.  
"Yeah? Well, it's de most likely case!" Shelly screamed at him. He didn't get a chance to defend himself. Shelly slammed him against the wall again, and for a moment he thought he saw stars. The world swam around him. It was what you called dizziness from impact, he supposed.  
"If ye won't stay, ah'll make ya," Shelly roared.  
"You...can't do that...actually," Colt mumbled from somewhere, "and it's the middle of the night..." Shelly outright ignored him. Colt sounded pretty out of it, and he longer to help the sheriff, but Shelly was not letting go anytime soon.  
"How's dis? Ye'll stay, or de next time ah'm wit the kid, ah'll take it out on her, 'nd all yer efforts'd be in vain," Shelly growled. He instantly stiffened.  
"That's illegal," Colt groaned, "it's supposed to help, not harm..."  
"Indeed," Bo agreed.  
"Ah don't care. Ah'll do it anyway if ye leave," Shelly said, voice trembling. At least she wasn't shouting anymore.  
"You cannot," Bo insisted, panic rising. He would not allow her to undo all his efforts to keep Nita safe over some petty quarrel. She had no right to threaten him like this.  
"Ah will," Shelly retorted. And she was serious, he could see it in her eyes. She meant it, and she would act on it.  
"I will not let you." The words were out before he had time to think about it. Shelly laughed again, a short bark of laughter.  
"But where wld'ya be?" She taunted, "runnin' in de forest?"  
"Shut up!" He roared in anger, finally snapping. First she came and interrupted him incessantly, then she threatened Nita, and now she was belittling everything. He had had enough.  
"Why?" She challenged.  
"It is not your place to judge me for anything!" He snapped.  
"Then what? Ye want me to let ya walk out just like dat?" Shelly demanded.  
"Yes," he replied swiftly, "I have had enough of interference on your part, Shotgun Shelly." Shelly said nothing after that. She glanced down and to the side, silent for a long moment.  
"Ye know what? Fine. Git." Shelly abruptly let go, turning away. She looked away, refusing to make eye contact. He was confused, to say the least.  
"If ye can live knowing what ye did, fine. Git! See if ah care," Shelly spat. She whirled around, stomping out of the house, probably off to the Events to blow off a lot of steam. He had no idea who would still be playing at a time like this, but she could just be going off for a walk, too. Bo stared after her. She was being unusually insightful and clever. This was Shelly. Not even Colt came up with such precise and spot on arguments within five seconds. He quietly helped Colt to bed, since the sheriff looked kind of woozy, and then quietly left. He strolled to the lake at the edge of the little town. It was deserted at this time, and he calmly settled down. There were some muffled footsteps.  
"Can I join you?" Jessie asked.  
"Of course. The view today is splendid," Bo replied warmly, gesturing for her to take a seat.  
"But it looks the same as usual," Jessie protested, settling down beside him. He chuckled slightly.  
"That is what makes the view every day splendid," he corrected. Jessie seemed thoughtful, contemplating what he just said. The silence stretched on comfortably, just the two of them.  
"Why are you still up at a time like this, little one?" He asked, breaking the silence. Jessie made a "I don't know" kind of noise, humming thoughtfully.  
"I overheard you and Shelly arguing," she said, changing the subject. Bo glanced at her, but she seemed completely at peace.  
"Are you really quitting, Mister Bo?" Jessie asked. He still didn't have an answer. Shelly certainly got him thinking, and now he had no definite answer.  
"You aren't, are you? You care about us, right?" Jessie probed. It was a subtle jab at him through guilt tripping. Considering he had just heard Shelly scream guilt at him for a good 10 minutes, he instantly saw through it. This guilt tripping was familiar. He thought for a moment, and Jessie stayed silent as well, waiting.  
"I understand many things, and many people, but you, I do not," Bo said at great length. Jessie tilted her head to one side, still silent.  
"It was you," he said, more of a statement than a question. He didn't feel terribly angry or annoyed, just a serene calm. Jessie laughed softly. She had a nice laugh, the kind only young children had.  
"Of course," she giggled lightly, standing up and brushing off the dirt. She offered her hand to him, and though it seemed strange and backward that a child offer to help an adult up, Bo took her hand. She didn't pull him up, but she didn't have to. He got up of his own accord.  
"Try not to think about it," Jessie said graciously, smiling lightly. There was a depth of sorrow in her eyes that betrayed her true feelings, only visible at such close proximity and over such time. He wondered what exactly the young mechanic was thinking about, and what she was going through. Sometimes ignorance really was bliss.  
"You as well," he replied in parting. Jessie tilted her head to one side, letting her hand drop. Bo let go, wondering if there was some way they could help this troubled child too. She didn't look like she would accept help easily. Jessie stepped back, still facing him, pausing slightly before stepping back again.  
"If only," she whispered, then she was gone into the dark of night, as elusive as a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Worry not, all will be revealed in time. For now, be confused and have a spoiler you will only know is a spoiler after you have seen the plot, haha. The best kind of spoilers, in my opinion, only I know what they are.  
> This was a really fun chapter to write, though! I mean there was a bit of comedy at the front, but it degraded pretty fast, unfortunately. Sometime between this argument and the time he went over to Nita, Colt actually thought about the whole incident and somehow came to the conclusion that Nita was at fault, which she kind of is, which is why he ends up being so pleasantly mad the whole day.  
> As for the end, well, as I said, there's a chapter that looks at things from Jessie's perspective. It's my second favourite chapter. Also, I'd love to point out that temper actually has two meanings! One is the more literal version of being angry or not, and the other is where something(normally a sword), is heated and cooled over and over to make it stronger. Seriously interesting stuff :)


	9. We need to talk...

Firstly, this is not a new chapter. It is an author's note, and it is titled as such because we do need to have a talk, you and I. Writer to reader.  
Well then, here we go. Guys, this is Klovar. There's a really, really important topic we need to discuss, so sit down, and let's have a talk...  
Now, I am really, really sorry. However, I have lost much of my initial interest in this story, and I can't find the motivation to continue it. To those people out there who genuinely loved it, I'm sorry. But it's not like a lot of people are going to miss this. It's a small fan base out there, and only a bunch of people probably read this and liked it. I know it's not a very good story. Once again, I'm sorry.  
Next, I found that I'm too busy. Life is busier than I catered it to be, and now I can't find time to work on this even if I wanted to. Maybe it's part of why I lost interest. I have done my best, and I can't do it. So, I'm sorry, but this story isn't going to cut it.  
My apologises, if you thought this was going to be a chapter. It isn't. I just need to tell you guys this. I mean, I might still decide to keep posting, but I'm not sure. I will probably just delete everything, and then all traces of Running Wild is going to disappear. Thank you for the awesome journey together, and I hope you find another good fanfic.  
-Klovar


	10. Chapter 5 - Try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys. _WHO FELL FOR IT??_ Happy April Fool's day, people. Yes, that chapter was a complete, elaborately set up joke at your expense. Now then, don't be mad. Firstly, it was posted on 1st April. Big clue, people. Secondly, I wrote in my bio that it was a joke. Not that anyone ever checks that... Next, I swore on my artist's honor that I would finish it in, that's right, the prolouge's note. And if you look carefully at the title...well...doesn't it seem familiar? That's right, if you're still mad at me, be mad no longer! This was started by good old Supercell. 'We need to talk...Brawl Stars...is going global!!' Yes. That horrendous, crazy set up to scare people that peaked the news and made me aware of the game. It was what introduced me, in fact. And what better way to use it, and bring it up, than doing it myself? There's another, more serious reason why I'm doing this as well. As you may know, Article 13 is finally in action. This was a homage of sorts, on my own small little scale. It does not affect me, but it is nonetheless noteworthy, and if you are one of those unwittingly victims reading this, please accept my sincere condolences. No one should deserve this. I am very sorry that you have to go through this. Onwards, together.

She woke to the increasingly familiar face of Colt. She sat up, ignoring the way his grip on Jessie's cursed invention tightened.  
"So," he started conversationally," I heard that you attempted to escape twice, once on the way to the bar, and once during breakfast, fought every time you had to eat, injuring Bo pretty severly once, and did not sleep even after going to bed. Mind you, the last one isn't really a crime, but Bo was really wound up about it. He also seemed pretty riled up about your apparently 'atrocious table manners'." Colt finished calmly, smiling at her pleasantly.  
"Didurnt ighrt durrig runcr," she corrected. Colt considered this for a moment.  
"Alright. You attempted to escape twice, once on the way to the bar, and once during breakfast, fought every time you had to eat except for lunch, and injured Bo pretty severly before dinner, which made him retaliate with a pretty high charge on the Shock Handgun." Colt amended, still smiling pleasantly, as if they were talking about the weather. Even though there was no question, Nita knew he expected a response. She nodded. Colt immediately continued, obviously waiting for her agreement.  
"That's pretty bad behaviour, if I do say so myself. Barley was really upset, you know. He was so proud that you didn't summon your bear in the shower, despite the surge in magic. He was telling me that he believed in you, and he knew you weren't violent, you just needed a little support and encouragement. Then you attacked Bo on purpose, with no reason other than annoyance, and the poor guy got upset over it. That's alright, though. You can apologise the next time you are back with him." Nita blinked, confused. Colt was still using a pleasant voice, and was still smiling, but the words he was saying sounded like a rebuke, and his free hand was curled into a fist. It clashed into a big mess she didn't quite know how to interpret.  
"Why so confused?" Colt asked, obviously picking up on it. He continued before she had a chance to reply. "I did tell you you are on rotation watch, right? I am sure I did. Anyway, I decided, after yesterday, we would need to keep a closer eye on you. Fortunately for you, you are going to spend the rest of today with me. Isn't that exciting?" Colt revealed, still smiling ever so pleasantly.  
It took a moment for the sentence to sink into her. She could see the hint of amusement in his expression now. She stared at him in mild terror. If she spent a day with him, she would be stuck in his office-house, with the police group strolling in and out. Her luck was generally bad, but she didn't think it was that bad. Colt must be trying to scare her, she decided. No more, no less.  
"You don't believe me, do you?" Colt observed. Him and his perceptiveness. Nita growled as she nodded, narrowing her eyes at the sheriff. He shrugged.  
"Believe what you want to. Either way, I'm here to bring you to where you'll be stuck at for the rest of today." He took a step away from her bed, tilting his head at the door. Nita reluctantly crawled out of bed, moving out of the door. He nudged her in the direction of his office. Nita didn't miss out on the fact that it was the shape of the taser nudging her and not his hand. She walked slowly, reasoning to herself that there were plenty of other houses around this area besides the sheriff's. Every correct turn made her a little more doubtful, though, and while she would never admit it, her breathing picked up. They were one turn away from the house now. Nita released a sigh of relief when they moved straight, rather than turning in to the office-house. She blinked in disbelief as they reached the only house in their current lane. Of all the people, she thought in dismay, it had to be him. She might actually prefer going to Colt's than this. Colt reached over to knock, and for one foolish moment, she thought she might actually have a chance at running. She bolted, but was jerked back as Colt easily caught her right arm. There was a flash of pain as her arm protested at being the rope in the twisted game of tug-of-war, and then another as he calmly zapped her.  
"After my huge speech on keeping a closer eye on you, did you really think I wouldn't be prepared for something like this?" He asked cheerfully. He set her back on her feet beside him, not struggling with picking her up like he used to. He snorted at the look of amazement she gave him. "Come on, Nita, you haven't been fighting for so long. You definitely lost quite a lot of muscle mass, and you not eating well made you lose quite a bit of weight too. You're ridiculously light right now."  
"He ain't wrong bout that. Yer prolly the lightest now." A new voice interjected. The owner of the house had finally answered, and now stood waiting with the door open. Nita glared at him for agreeing with that statement- it made her feel weak. Colt nudged her forward, but she refused to move. He nudged her a couple more times, but she took a step back instead. This time the taser pressed firmly into her back, and she could hear the hum it was making. She hesitated before finally stepping into Bull's house. She watched as Colt followed her into the house, and realised he actually wasn't lying- he was going to spend the whole day with her. She groaned internally, letting Bull steer her to the table to sit down. She stared at the plate of food, then up at Bull, who was already eating heartily. He paused when he noticed her gaze.  
"Yeah?" He asked, mouth still full of food. She heard Colt make a disgusted noise at Bull's admittedly terrible manners.  
"Nart ungri." She stated simply, pushing her plate towards him. He looked tempted to accept the plate for a moment, but then shook his head, grumbling, "ya are. Jus dun knoe it yetsh." His mouth was still full of food, mostly because he just put more in, and his words were slightly slurred due to that. Colt made another disgusted noise, and appeared, pulling a chair over to sit next to Nita.  
"You." He pointed at Bull. "Eat and don't talk. You." He pointed at Nita. "Eat or I'll make you." Nita narrowed her eyes. She began to rise from her seat, snarling at him in challenge. He had shocked her before she managed to fully rise, causing her to collapse back into her seat. Nita blinked in surprise. Bo had never taken action unless she made a threatening or dangerous move. He would prepare the taser if she snarled, but until she lashed at him or tried to run, he had not pressed the button. He moved at the last possible second. Colt seemed much more uptight, taking action at her first move. Her mind screamed at her that this was unfair treatment. She hadn't done anything yet. She made the twisted connection that if Colt was going to be like this, she would make a move and hurt him so the shock was justified. She snapped her arm at him, but he seemed more than prepared, catching the swing. He took the opportunity to touch the taser to her arm, and she hissed at the pain. Now she was truly agitated. She threw herself at him, bowling him over. His arms pinwheeled wildly, trying to keep his balance, but Nita prevailed. She snarled at him, magic building to make him hurt, to make him pay. She peeled back her lips in a snarl, pausing to knock Bull back with a claw swipe. Her teeth easily found purchase in his neck, where she could _bite-shake-kill_ and clamped down. The sharp intake of breath was all that he would give her, but that was fine. The taser couldn't touch her since she had pinned his arms down. She could feel his arm twitching as he fiddled with the taser anyway, and she was pleased that he tried to fight back against the odds. The liquid magic was addicting, and only served to fuel her bloodlust for more. She had released her upper jaw from it's hold to bite further up, enabling her to get the delicious magic pouring from the bite wound.  
The shock that ran through her was an unwelcome surprise. The pain was relentless. Her jaw locked from the onslaught, and she was disappointed to feel that the shock did not travel on to Colt. The thought was pushed to the side immediately as the pain became a bigger concern. She could barely think around the pain that shook her and left her slumped on top of Colt. He was removing her hold on his neck carefully, but she clamped down again, refusing to let him go.  
"Let go, Nita." He said lowly. The taser pressed into her side. Instead of complying, she reached for his arm to pin it down again. The shock that came again hurt more than the first round, possibly because she was already sore.  
"Let go." Colt repeated, taser mercilessly pressed into her side. He wouldn't hesitate to use it again, she knew. In less than an hour, he had already used it as many times as the whole of yesterday. She reluctantly released her hold, backing up. Her magic dissipated, no longer needed to strengthen her teeth or give her the jaw strength of a bear. She licked the upper row of her teeth to get the last bit of the magic, swiping her tongue around her mouth to clean herself up. She had backed off from Colt because he was giving her more trouble than he was worth, and she eyed Bull, considering him. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her of her need for food, and she crouched, dropping onto all fours. She slinked towards him. The only problem was that he was helping Colt up, and the taser was a big problem. She held off from attacking until Bull turned to find her, leaving Colt's side. She pounced on him, the threat of the taser gone in her bearish mind. What she forgot was that the taser was actually a Shock Handgun. The shock ball burst from it, slamming into her, making her stumble and fall short. She groaned from her position on the ground.  
"Bull, go into my office and ask anyone to come over. Also, go and call Poco, please. Ask him to get here ready to heal. After that, please drop by Barley's bar. Tell him Colt wants That Thing. He'll know what to give you." Colt issued orders calmly. She heard Bull moving off in the distance, until his footsteps had faded. She narrowed her eyes at the weakened sheriff. He cocked the taser at her, and she wisely did not make a move. She had inflicted severe damage on him, though. And out here, away from the magic loaded Event zones, he was recovering slowly. She weighed the odds of escaping successfully. The bear was dominant right now, and the bear wanted to hunt. Her stomach rumbled again, and she growled.  
Ricochet stepped into the house. She was instantly on high alert, growling at him. She tensed, ready to lunge at him, but Colt called sharply, "Nita, no!" She considered the taser in his hands and while she did not relax, she did not make a move either, though she still pinned the robot with a death glare. She winced when her stomach growled again.  
*Clink!* She blinked in surprise at the plate that had slid over the floor and collided gently with her nails. The food was cooked, nothing like what she could get by hunting or foraging. Still, she was hungry, and the need to eat won out. She managed to push her human eating habits to the front of her mind, and despite the urge to bend her head and eat straight from the plate, she picked up the food to send to her mouth. It was messy anyway, messier than even Bull, but she didn't really care. She stuffed food into her mouth with her palm like a bear with it's paw, rather than with her fingers like Bull did. When she looked up, she found Colt eating in a more civilized method than either of them. He picked up the food with his fingers and took a bite, rather than cramming everything in. Ricochet was training the taser on her now, so she just ignored him, finishing up her food. There was a pause, before Nita burped, sighing happily. With the desire to eat properly out of the way, her hold on her humanity slipped. There was less need to be human now, and the bear was overriding everything. She stretched herself out, lumbering towards the nearest patch of sunlight to bask in.  
"Now that I've seen you eating personally," Colt suddenly declared," I've got to say I agree with Bo and his description of your 'atrocious table manners'. If I thought Bull was bad, you are ten times worse." Nita scowled, growling at him. The short time period where she had been deprived of being a bear had made it come back with a vengeance. She could not snap herself out of her current mindset, and following her instincts, she snarled at the offender. She understood the words, but couldn't really make sense of them. Nor could she comprehend what exactly the rectangle in the robot's hands was anymore. She had completely lost herself to the bear, and didn't understand why exactly she was in an enclosed area. Had those humans captured her? She growled.  
"...Nita? Can you understand me? If you can, please nod." Colt told her, frowning. Ever perceptive, he must have picked up on the sudden behavioural change. Some fuzzy part of her wanted to nod, but the majority of her heard the angry lilt to his voice. She roared in reply to his challenge, exposing her teeth in a show of strength.  
"What's wrong with her?" Ricochet was asking, and Colt shrugged in reply, but by now all she managed to get was that her captors were communicating. Then the door burst open.  
"Give me a beat! Where's the patient?" Poco called. The sudden noise made her turn to this new, bigger threat. His yellow colour was blindingly artificial, and made Nita cringe. She instantly labeled him as something to dispose of- preferably kill- but at least it had alerted her of the exit to this cage. She snarled, stalking towards Poco, who cocked his head at her.  
"Yeah, Nita..! Bears rock, and you are rocking it! Certainly scared me for a moment there, friend." He cheerfully told her. She grimaced at the loud noises he made, snarling at him.  
"What's the matter? Huh, Nita? ...Nita?" Poco's grin faded as he looked at her in concern.  
"Nita may be stuck in the bear mindset. She's not responding," Colt filled in. Poco took one look at his torn up and bloody neck, tutted, and reached for it. The sudden movement scared Nita. She growled, snapping at Poco. He quickly backpedaled, but the quick movements only served to agitate her. She lunged at him, but an electric ball intercepted her, courtesy of Ricochet. While she trembled in place due to the shock, Poco ran past her to reach Colt. He played a sweet melody on his guitar, restoring a large portion of health and sealing up the wounds by 75%. Nita froze at the sound of the song. For a moment, she was dancing round and round a campfire with everyone else, and Poco was playing his guitar. Even then, his music was good, it just wasn't good enough. Now it was better, but it was that same sweet melody.  
"Ro-ou," she rumbled, but the moment she laid eyes on him she was riled up by his coloration. The rumble changed to a growl as she narrowed her eyes in a glare.  
"Poco, keep playing!" Colt snapped.  
"I'm all out of magic," Poco protested.  
"Just keep playing normally." Colt muttered. The healer obediantly started strumming his guitar- even if they didn't have faith in his ability to keep peace, they all had faith that he knew what to do. This music was livelier, a fast and upbeat tune. It reminded Nita of the days they celebrated birthdays, and the food all around, the effort everyone put in to bring something special, be it food or decorations. It was small and simple, but it was grand by their standards. It reminded her of her friends.  
"Rolt...?" She rumbled. "Ro-ou..." She dipped her voice to be closer to a croon. Then she narrowed her eyes at the last member. "Riro...!" She snarled. The sway of the music fell away as she bared her teeth at the robot. She was interrupted by the door slamming open- again.  
"Ah'm back," Bull huffed. She blinked at him in surprise, images of hurting him flashing in her mind.  
"Ruu..." Her croon was sad and broken. "Ruu....Ruu...." Bull just blinked at her in surprise. He smiled at her hesitantly, unsure of what exactly was going on, but taking it as a good sign she was calling him. She took it as a sign of invitation, slinking closer. She gently butted his leg, and was elated when he crouched down. She rumbled happily, shoving her head into his chest, all but melting when he gently hugged back.  
All was forgiven and well.  
"Ruu," she crooned, a sweet and happy sound this time. Without any reservations the human side of her might have, Nita nuzzled him happily. Nita was still too bear to really curb her happy bear instincts, but she had regained some semblance of control, and was now human enough to know that this was Bull, not prey.  
"Ya doin good there, Nit? C'mon, go back ta bein human. Ya can do it, Nit, ah know ye can," Bull encouraged her, slowly pulling her back to her human mind.  
And if Nita made use of the opportunity to keep snuggling into Bull for a little longer than it took to take control, well, no one needed to know.  
By the time she pulled away, face red, it was well past lunch time. Poco offered to cook, since he was there anyway. Ricochet returned to the office to settle any paperwork, and Colt did his best to talk to Poco, ignoring the other two as best as he could. With their relationship mended, Nita challenged Bull to an eating race, and they were stuffing food into their mouths at the fastest possible rate. Bull had a larger mouth, but Nita was hungry and ate faster, leaving them in a tie. Poco smiled politely at them, trying his best not to grimace, while Colt sighed, trying to get used to the sight he would be seeing every week. He looked as if he might be sick, despite not being the one to stuff himself full. The duo just sat in their chairs for a long while after the race, groaning and burping. Nita didn't think she would ever turn down this kind of challenge, despite the horrible bloated feeling it left.  
The rest of the day passed with no hiccups. Nita was satisfied that Bull still considered her a friend- he said so before, but she hadn't really believed it. They had went back to their usual teasing, brutally dumping facts on each other, and laughing at the other's expense. Her general happiness led to no incidents for the rest of the day, and the shock count remained at 5 for the second day in a row. She only left when Colt herded her home. She was curious to know who she was with the next day, but the sheriff didn't seem to want to tell her. He only hinted that there was normally someone from the sheriff group, someone who could cook, and some other soul who was hopeless at taking care of others. He did explicitly say that everyone was in on this- except Frank. Frank wasn't just hopeless at these kind of things. He was legendarily awkward and outright clumsy.  
She slid into bed, ready to wave goodbye to the sheriff, but he didn't leave. He plopped himself down on the floor in the middle of nowhere, body facing her bed, and declared," Sleep well. Goodnight." She stared at him for a long moment before he elaborated, "I'm here to keep an eye on you. I know, you don't like it, I don't like it, but it has to be done. Can't have you running into the forest in the middle of the night. And the last time Bull went outside you got out of the window. It's not practical to have people watching every exit. Just one, watching you." Nita growled in disagreement. Who said she would run away? She started to tell the sheriff exactly that, but he held up a hand to stop her.  
"Look, it's just a precaution. I don't really think you would do it. This is just in case your bear instincts take over and send you running." He explained wearily. Nita still didn't agree, but the flicker from the taser, and the constant hum made her stay silent. Instead of ending the day on a bad note, she gave in to the situation. She rolled over, putting Colt and the taser out of sight, and hopefully out of her mind. She could still hear the hum, a constant, repetitive sound that had come to mean an impending shock. Yet the pain never came, and once she relaxed, the drone lured her to sleep easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm bribing you to stop being mad with this chapter. Anyway. The previous chapter was the beginning of a hard stretch of chapters to write. I needed something to keep Nita in the village, and I finally decided on this idea. The story can't be about Nita running to the forest and getting caught every chapter, you know. Although I can't say it never happened again...  
> Anyway, Bull, as a heavyweight, has a general lack of ability to cook. But, you know, he got into a fight with Poco, who insulted his lack of skills as a caretaker, and Bull made it a challenge in the heat of the moment. Then he realised his mistake, but wouldn't call it off, and ended up running around discreetly to ask people to teach him how to cook. He ended up picking Nita because he thought that children promises were important to them, and that was when they became much closer. You would be surprised how much spending time shouting at each other build bonds. Bull barely passed the challenge, but earned Poco's grudging respect and the village's awe. I mean, a tank, cooking? Unheard of.  
> Also, Colt is being a very pleasant person in the first few paragraphs for good reason. He knows that shouting at Nita is going to work too well, and he knows that once he starts he's not going to stop. He doesn't want Nita to be scared of him. He especially does not want to accidentally hurt Nita. He's absolutely furious, though. He kind of takes it out on Nita no matter how impartial he's trying to be. He's just too mad with Nita.


	11. Chapter 6 - Try Harder

Nita half expected to wake up to the face of someone right beside her bed. She was pleasantly surprised that no one came to wake her up, or was standing nearby, watching her. Perhaps her good behaviour the previous night made Colt ease up a little. She glanced around her apartment to make sure she was alone, checking outside the window and door just to be sure. Every time she found empty space made her increasingly amazed, and fed the growing glee deep in her chest. She had earned a certain measure of trust, to be allowed such freedom. They must believe that she genuinely would not run away. She wouldn't run away, of course.  
She would just protect all these lovely people.  
If the way to do so happened to be running off to the forest, well, it wasn't really counted. She nimbly climbed through the window, hoping to avoid anyone who might see her running off to the forest. She took her first step towards the forest, inhaling the fresh air, smiling happily. She would just be more careful this time to prevent herself getting caught. For a moment, she thought about leaving them a note, but she was reluctant to go back into her house lest her guard was merely late. Instead, she bent down to scratch a short message in the dirt. Satisfied, she set off towards the forest again.  
"Really, you're enforcing the idea that we need to watch you all day every day, because you'll take every chance to run off." Someone commented. She whirled around, panic beginning to spike at the knowledge that someone was here. Frankly, she wasn't sure why she was surprised when her eyes found Colt.  
He had found a way to turn up at least once a day, ever since her return. He watched her like a hawk, and managed to have used the taser at least once per day, too. Granted, it had only been two days, but it was still impressive. He also seemed to be extending his record to the third day. Right now, he held the taser casually, but the all too familiar whine was filling the silence, and it happened to be pointed at her. He also had a very valid reason to use it, since she was trying to run.  
Nita threw the first excuse she could come up with at him. "Rash air," she tried, smiling at him as innocently as she could. Colt nodded skeptically, and his voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Of course. Why didn't I think of that? Fresh air." There was a little pause, and then he added, "Anything else?" Nita's smile faltered, and she struggled to think of another valid excuse.  
"Strasch regs?" She asked uncertainly. Colt smiled sweetly, and Nita could nearly see the sarcasm rolling off him as he replied, "Oh, yes, the need to stretch your legs. I suppose you would stretch them all the way to the forest?" Nita grimaced. Busted. He was giving her a look, the kind that cut to her core, and she never was good at lying in the first place.  
"...ac-er-ise?" Nita finally produced. He gave her an are-you-serious? kind of look, and she spread her arms helplessly.  
"...why don't you just come clean, and get back here, because this is going nowhere." The sheriff finally sighed. Nita hesitated. She gestured at the taser uncertainly, and asked, "ouse?" Colt paused, then gestured at her in return. "Escape?" It was her turn to pause. That wasn't really an answer, but it seemed to be leaning towards the 'yes' section. She shuffled her feet uncertainly, trying to think of a reason why he should not use the Shock Handgun on her, but she was guilty, and ended up with nothing. Her next instinct was to run. Just turn and try to out run the projectile. She eyed the distance between them, calculating whether running might succeed. It was uncertain, and she growled in distress.  
"Nita..." Colt trailed off in warning. He narrowed his eyes at her, obviously picking up on her desire to run. "Do NOT run." He ordered.  
She ran.  
She fled the extremely unfavourable situation, trying to get to the relative safety of the forest. A shot zipped by her, and she stopped running in a zigzag, confident that she had a few seconds before another shot could be fired. It was like the bar situation all over again- except this time El Primo wasn't there to block her. This time, her muscles froze up as the pain coursed through her, leaving her to fall from the sudden lack of movement. She tumbled and rolled, ending up as a groaning mess on the grassy floor. Colt was already hooking his arms under hers from the back, beginning to drag her back. She tried to move and found her position restrained her arms, besides giving Colt a good grip on her.  
"Welcome back to the world of the living," Colt said dryly, "and if I were you, I would remember that the Shock Handgun has more than one shot. Maybe that will motivate you to escape less, although I doubt so."  
Nita groaned in reply. Her muscles still hurt, and she couldn't help but wonder how high the charge was set to. Dang Jessie and her ingenious inventions.  
Someone else took over dragging her. She tilted her head back to find that it was the deputy sheriff.  
Ricochet.  
Her anger flared up, and she snapped at him, struggling to hit him despite her sore muscles. He looked at her with a cross as his eye, indicating his clear annoyance.  
"Will you stop that." Ricochet said, making it a statement instead of a question.  
"NARRR!" She roared at him, increasing her efforts. She dug her heels into the ground, arms flailing wildly, trying to snap at any part of his metal body.  
"Stop that." He repeated. The cross squished itself flatter horizontally, his version of narrowing his eye. She glowered at him, and a feral grin graced her features. She snarled at him smugly, and jerked her head back to hit him. The cross narrowed further, leaving a slit.  
"You will pay for that." He threatened, and Nita gave him her best unimpressed look. It was kind of hard to take anything to heart when his voice was so flat, carrying the ever present sharp edge to it.  
"Alright, that's enough." Colt interjected. He glared at Nita. "Like it or not, you're stuck with him for the rest of the day." She stared at him in disbelief. He was serious, wasn't he?  
"I do not like it either," Ricochet told her, and she stomped on one of his feet to assure him the feeling was mutual. Colt zapped her for that, but she was still pretty pleased with herself. Colt left once they reached Dynamike's house, with a last warning for Nita to behave. She grinned at him, and he left shaking his head. From there, she made sure to make Ricochet's life as difficult as she could. She mostly ignored Darryl, and only bothered Dynamike for food. Other than that, she was fully occupied with the deputy sheriff. She 'accidentally' dropped Dynamike's dynamites while she was looking at them, making them blow up in his face. She started swinging her feet all of a sudden when he passed by, making him stumble over her feet. She tripped over her own feet to crash into him, making them both fall. When they sat down to eat, she kicked him under the guise of swinging her legs. He looked like he wanted to kill her- an impressive feat for a robot- but she didn't give him any real reason to use the taser.  
She made sure to push at the limits, though. She stood leaning on the window, idly counting the average number of birds that flew by per second. She eagerly waited for him to make the first move- as long as he moved without her doing anything wrong, he was at fault. Retaliation would be completely justifiable. She growled and snarled at invisible dust bunnies that were always conveniently close to him, making threatening moves at them. She always took a ridiculous amount of time, sorting through her breakfast and lunch. She poked around, agitating him that she wasn't eating. When he told her to take a bath, she spitefully held the link between herself and her familiar open way longer than necessary, making the magic seem hostile. When he demanded to know what that was about, she smiled at him, all teeth and no humour.  
"Creanin." She growled smugly, staring at him, silently daring him to contradict her. He turned away, but Nita could tell he was closer to snapping at her than before. It felt like he was barely holding back, and she was determined to break the thread of control he had left. She narrowed her eyes, already approaching him, aiming to make him snap.  
"Riro," she growled, getting his attention. If she used a slightly hostile tone, well, did it matter?  
"What." His voice was flat- flatter than normal.  
"Bear. Want out. Sammon?" She asked him. His head turned to her, eye a dot instead of a cross in surprise.  
"Your bear wants to come out, and you want me to let you summon such a dangerous creature?" He frowned, eye flashing into it's usual cross, narrowing dangerously.  
"Eashoul bear," Nita promised, frowning at how far off the first word sounded. She could never pronounce words with the letter 'p' or 'f'.  
"Eashoooul," she tried again, growling at the result. "Eash-oul." She said again, pausing in between this time. She snarled in frustration at the result, hand twitching with the need to hit something in her anger.  
Pain.  
She shuddered at the shock going through her, and internally threw a small celebration despite the pain. She gasped when it ended, staring up at Ricochet from her new position on the floor. He stared right back, an exclamation mark representing his eye.  
"Danger." He said flatly. Nita growled in anger and a hint of triumph, pulling her lips back in a snarl.  
"...?" Darryl made his silent appearance.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did she do anything? No she didn't, no sire." Dynamike exclaimed, lowering his voice into a mutter by the end of his sentence. He hopped from foot to foot, somehow keeping his balance with ease despite swaying dangerously. Nita wondered for the fifth time if letting such an eccentric person care for someone else was safe. She interrupted whatever Ricochet was going to say with a rumbling snarl. She glared at him, climbing to her feet. Then she roared. She didn't care that it would send Colt running to appear miraculously. He had probably already sensed trouble and was making his way over. Ricochet aimed the taser at her again.  
"Threat detected. Eliminate. Eliminating threat." He declared, narrowing his cross eye. The taser hummed in agreement, and Nita barely got out of the way of its deadly projectile. She played defensive for now, not wanting to add Colt to her list of trouble when he arrived and saw her attacking his deputy. Said robot was relentless, moving towards her to close the distance. She backed away, sighing in relief when two dynamites landed in front of the other. He was forced to back away, barely getting out of the range as a mini explosion occurred.  
"Here, beary, beary, beary!" The thrower called, and Nita darted over to him, forgiving the nickname because he was special. Dynamike giggled, much like a child, and threw another set of dynamites, fending off Ricochet. He bounced in place, vibrating with barely contained energy. He suddenly turned to Darryl.  
"I wish you were Colt." He told the heavyweight, who accepted the statement as a statement. If anyone else had said that, it would have been an insult. But Dynamike was special. Ricochet was aiming his gun now. He had obviously given up trying to hit Nita directly, who was hiding behind Darryl. The gun was pointing somewhere else, and Ricochet was obviously calculating the angle carefully to avoid hitting Darryl and Dynamike with his bouncing bullets.  
"Everyone freeze in the name of the law!" An all too welcome voice shouted, the door bursting open. The whole force appeared behind their leader, except for Ricochet, who was in the scene itself. Colt stared at Darryl and Dynamike, obviously siding with Nita, against his own deputy, who was aiming his gun.  
"Hey, hey!" Dynamike piped up, bouncing in place. He made a beeline towards the sheriff despite his previous orders to freeze. Colt didn't stop him, though. Dynamike was special.  
"Your man attacked our girl for no reason! It's true, it's true. She just got worked up not being able to talk right, and then he shocked her! How do you explain that, huh? Inequality, that's what it is!" Dynamike exclaimed animatedly. Colt nodded, trying to calm down the ball of energy in front of him. He didn't need to do anything, though, because the thrower hopped back to his previous place, pushing Nita towards Colt. "You tell him! Go on, go on, tell him!" He demanded. Nita ginned at the sheriff, and he narrowed his eyes instantly. She knew he would pick up on the mischief in her expression, and she didn't even try to hide it.  
"Ricochet, Nita, come with me. We're going to have a nice little chat." Colt said slowly, and there was a clear edge of a threat in his voice directed at her. She followed obediantly, slinking behind Colt and smiling at the robot behind her cheekily. She let the robot explain everything. The less she had to talk, the better. She made sure Colt got her version of what was happening, though, and in her version she was completely innocent. She couldn't be faulted for choosing to stare out of the window if she didn't try to escape, or for tripping Ricochet when she was doing a normal activity of swinging her legs, or even for making a threatening move if it was directed at dust bunnies. The sheriff looked like he was sinking deeper and deeper into his headache throughout the whole explanation. At the end of it, he let out a weary sigh. Silence reigned for a while before he spoke.  
"You. Are insufferable." He told Nita. "Those accidents were on purpose and you know it. Not that you would ever admit it." He muttered the last part, and Nita shrugged innocently. He rested his narrowed eyes on her for a long time, before he spoke again. "I'll be taking over for the rest of the day. Rico, a private word, please." Nita took that as her cue to leave, sauntering out of the kitchen, with one last cheeky smile.  
The sheriff personally escorted his deputy out, effectively stopping Nita from delivering a goodbye gift of one last trip to the floor, but that was alright. She must have given out 10 tickets by now. She was extremely pleased with her work, although she doubted that it could ever happen again. Colt would take Ricochet off duty with her, now, or pair him off. Either way, she would never get another chance to rile him up privately. Nevertheless, she had more or less enacted her revenge, and she was satisfied with that. She had paid him back in full- plus a little more- for the first night she returned. It wasn't like she had something against him normally.  
Colt kept giving her looks the whole day long. Maybe it was because she was behaving perfectly, or because he didn't trust her after her little stunt, or because she was so unnaturally happy. Honestly, It was probably because of the sly smirks she kept shooting him. It was amusing to see the normally unruffled sheriff so confused and agitated, and just made her smirk all the more.  
"Rrruuight!" She called to him politely that night, chuckling at the non-committal grunt he gave in response. Did it matter? Yes. Was it important? Yes. Did she care? No.  
She fell asleep snickering at his expense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better watch your back, Ricochet. Nita is absolutely not going to do anything else. I mean, the score has been settled. By the way, Ricochet was a pain to write. He has an interesting personality, I admit, but like every other robot, he has no facial expressions. Like, really?  
> Dynamike also proved to be a pretty complex character. He is certainly not crazy, but definitely not entirely sane either. I thought eccentric might do the trick. It gives him character and punch while explaining certain things. Darryl was another hard one. Robot, voiceless, very neutral stance...well, he's the perfect recipe for disaster. I tried to make him as blank as possible, I really did. You can't have a blank character, though. Except maybe Tara. I can see her with no voice and being a dignified person.  
> I know this series of chapters aren't exactly what you would call interesting. Just stick with me guys, we're getting into some good, juicy plot soon! I absolutely do not regret the 28 times I had to edit it to make it less confusing and less of a mind twister. It's one of my favourite parts of the story, because it gives you stepping stone for a new perspective, and then leaves you hanging. Haha, that's right, but this is one of the things that gives a story spice. Once again, oh dedicated fan who reads this, I shall give you the title of the next chapter. Blackout.


	12. Chapter 7 - Blackout

Nita woke to the now familiar face of Colt. She sighed, alerting him that she was awake.  
"Dou oou swiep?" She asked, gesturing to her bed to get her point across.  
"Of course I do," he frowned. Nita gave him a deadpan look. How could he sleep if he was appearing all over the place? She didn't push her point, though. Colt got cranky whenever he was challenged, and she rather not deal with a cranky Colt if she was stuck with him again. Really, the guy stretched himself too thin to fill in too many holes.  
"Anyway," he continued testily," we're going over to your caretaker of the day, if you're quite done with squinting at me." Nita didn't argue. She could tell he was already worked up. She just crawled out of bed and moved towards the door. Colt steered her easily, and she couldn't help but wonder why he was holding her shoulders like a lifeline. It was as if he was trying to stop her from running, but didn't he have the taser for that? She did not know the answer, and simply let him steer her.  
_Clang_.  
_Clang_  
_Clang_.  
Nita squirmed, uncomfortable with this part of the town. The sounds of metal on metal screeched and grated on her sensitive ears, and the horrible smell of something burning made her stomach curl, among other things. Colt was still firmly steering her, though, so she reluctantly kept walking. She was more than slightly ruffled- she hated that she would have to spend a second day in this place. She had already been stuck here yesterday with Dynamike. It was fairly secluded already, which helped a little in dispersing the sounds and the smell, but she still disliked it.  
_Clank_.  
_Clank_.  
_Clank_.  
Colt turned sharply, and she turned with him to face a door. She hadn't looked at whose house it was. Colt had seemed to be walking straight, but suddenly turned. She had a growing suspicion, though, and Big Baby Bear was snarling. The smell was overpowering here, as if they were right next to the forge.  
"Rolt." She growled, narrowing her eyes at the door. She felt his hands tighten around her shoulders. He did this on purpose- she knew he did.  
"Yes?" He asked, and there was a certain tension, a stiffness in his normally laid-back voice that was wrong. It wasn't like the stern voice he used at all. Instead, it seemed like he was the one caught red-handed, and his nervousness was what was lacing his voice with that unnatural tension.  
"Wearh." Nita growled lowly, not even bothering to raise her tone at the back to give it a questioning tone. Colt was silent, but she could feel the slight tremor in his hands. "WEARH!" She snapped, wrenching her body around to face the sheriff. He let go of her shoulders. He let her face him. The fact that he let her just made her more angry. He knew he was guilty, that was why he let her. Guilty. He tricked her into coming here by concealing half the truth. She had a right to know, and he didn't tell her. He had averted his eyes to one side, not quite meeting her in the eye, but making sure he knew where she was to prevent her from doing anything. His shoulders were hunched slightly, and he fidgeted with the taser.  
The taser.  
Jessie Junker.  
Pam Junker.  
**"How dare you! I'll show you-"**  
**"D-d-don't...! You...you...a-are-"**  
**"You. You'll be the death of-"**  
**"Stand down! Do not-"**  
**"I would worry if I be you. This be-"**  
"Nita!" She jolted. She was curled up in a ball on the ground, rocking back and forth, back and forth. Her head was tucked close to her knees, and her arms curled over her head for protection. She was panting for breath, and she couldn't stop herself from shaking. Her face felt hot, her body cold, and the sheriff was-  
**shouting and shooting. There were holes everywhere, and the magic was flowing too fast, she couldn't stop it, she was already numb. She was shaking, and she thought she might be crying, but she couldn't really tell, and her vision was blurring fast, too fast, even as Poco played desperately, it wasn't going to be _enough_** __-  
"NITA!" She was shaking. Someone had her by her shoulders again, and they were shaking her, trying to get her to respond. She wanted to say something to make them stop, but the words stuck in her throat, and her vision was blurred. She let out a choked sob, and it seemed to be enough for the shaking to stop. She raised her hands to wipe at her eyes, and her hands trembled all the way.  
Colt was staring at her. His eyes were wide and frightened, and he wasn't smiling anymore. There was a quiet, repetitve tune in the background that helped calm her frayed nerves. Poco sat absently playing his guitar right next to her. His eyes were small, trembling, pinpricks, and they were fixated on her.  
"Nita, you're okay, right? Nothing can get you anymore, you know?" He suddenly blurted. He set down his guitar- his beloved and precious guitar- on the floor. Arms now free, he immediately turned to hug her. She put her arms around him after a moment, trying to soothe him. He was trembling, or maybe she was, which made it seem like he was. Maybe both of them were. It didn't matter. She buried her face into the healer's coat, trying to escape from brutal reality for a moment. When she pulled away her face was hot again, and she had to wipe away more tears, but she felt much better. Poco smiled at her, his eyes back to normal. He squeezed her hand, and she returned the gesture. Already, his hand was slipping out of hers, he was picking up his instrument, and he was standing. He waved at her even as he walked away, and Nita knew he had to be back in his house, just in case any emergencies came through. Nevertheless, the sense of loss and abandonment settled heavily in her stomach.  
"Ahem." Colt cleared his throat. She turned to face him, annoyed that he had to interrupt her little sad moment. The tension still lined his body, except there was even more of a guilty slump to his shoulders now.  
"I didn't mean for this to happen." He suddenly said. Nita stared at him in confusion. For what to happen? For Poco to leave? There was a little pause. "For, um, you to panic." He clarified. Nita turned away sharply at the reminder.  
"I just thought that it's been so long, and they said that they already forgave you. I thought that you were over...you know, that." He added. Nita took a deep breath. She could do this. Now that she knew what was happening, she could just go up, and knock on the door, and-  
**Jessie stood in the doorway, grinning excitedly. The smell of baking bread was heavenly, and the forge was silent. The lingering smell of burnt wood was comforting and homely. She inhaled the smell, sighing happily. Jessie giggled at her antics, and she found herself** -  
Shivering. She had risen to her feet, and moved to the door. Her hand was raised as if to knock, but she was frozen in place. The disgusting smell of the burnt wood filled her nose, and she backed away slowly.  
She couldn't do this. It hurt too much.  
"Nita, do you want to switch?" Colt asked quietly. She did. She wanted to switch her caretaker no matter what, just so that she wouldn't have to see Jessie Junker and her- **frightened, betrayed face as-** she shook her head despite herself. Now that she was here, she wanted nothing more than for the door to open for her. She wanted to see Jessie badly, give her a punch or two for all the pain of the taser, maybe. Or just do what she did to Ricochet, and get sweet, sweet revenge. She could imagine the mechanic's reaction: crying- **and smiling through the tears and the liquid magic, smiling through the pain and the betrayal, smiling even as Nita screamed and sobbed, trying to** \- stop. She dropped her hand from it's position to knock.  
"Nita? It's fine to switch. I can ask Bull, or Poco." Colt said gently- just like Pam as she patted her on the head and- she shook her head. She felt more human than she did in a long time. The bear side of her was shook, retreating away from the influx of her emotions for once.  
"No. Need...need to. Warnt." Nita got out, surprising even herself with her nearly human pronunciations. She raised her hand determinedly. She could do this. She would do this. She owed this. To Pam, to Jessie, to herself. Her hand formed itself into a fist and fell on the door.  
Knock.  
Nita narrowed her eyes. She raised her hand again and it fell.  
Knock.  
For her. She would do anything.  
Knock.  
Nita let her hand fall to her side. She did it. She could do this. She had this. The door creaked open. The disgusting smell of the house washed over her. She twitched. Her eyes watered from the stench. A familiar figure stood in the doorway.  
"Well, lookit who's here!" Nita was frozen. She couldn't move. She couldn't think. She couldn't speak.  
"Aren't you coming in?"  
**"Yeah! There's fresh bread, and we're good at baking! Come on, come on!"**  
**"Don't be shy, now! Come in! My girl told me a lotta bout you!"**  
"Why don't you just-"  
**Step away! You little backstabber!" Pam's eyes were blazing with** \- Fear. It filled every fiber of her being. Nita stared at the figure in front of her with wide eyes, and she couldn't quite link it with love. Only fear. Only fear, that made her stumble back, trip over her own feet, pinwheeling her arms wildly as she fell and-  
Black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! This was painful to edit... Now, I would just like to clarify that Pam is awesome, and I hold nothing against her. She is not the villain of this story. Indeed, this story is driven by circumstance, not the classic hero-villain set up. I have bolded the flashbacks(against my initial judgement), to make it clearer once again. The first draft was a total disaster. All over the place. Now, it is hopefully understandable, despite still being confusing.  
> Lastly, thank you all who have continued to read this. I know it's not the best piece of work, but I think(and hope) that it did get better. Mostly, I was so hyped up to get the idea out that I don't think I did much for the first few chapters. Later chapters are longer, and more elaborated. In fact, I believe this chapter marks the beginning of when I started to calm down from the mad creativity rush fuelling the start of this fanfic. I believe that plot development will also no longer be stagnant. Not for more than one, two chapters anyway. Thank you so much for all the support, even if you just sneakily read it! It means a lot to me, knowing people are reading and loving what I'm writing!


	13. Chapter 8 - Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 233 views? 15 kudos??? You guys are too kind...*sniff sniff* I didn't expect this story to even take off, but it's hitting milestones...!

Dark. It surrounded her, wrapping her in it's gentle embrace. Nita let it. She didn't think she had to be anywhere else. For a moment, she thought she felt the need to find someone, but the dark pushed it away. It was comfortable, and she let herself sink deeper into it's embrace.  
_Nita_ , someone called. She frowned. That was annoyingly, painfully familiar. But she couldn't quite place it, and the sounds were muffled. She could not really hear who it was, but she seemed to understand the words regardless.  
**Jessie**  
She jerked. That's right. Jessie! That was her...her...her what? She sank back into the darkness. She didn't deserve to call Jessie her friend.  
_Nita!_  The someone called again. Now she knew it was Jessie that was calling. She thought she could feel cool hands on her arm, but she felt pretty detached from her body, so she wasn't sure.  
_Wake up..._ Jessie cried. Nita wasn't sure why she sounded so upset. She should be happy Nita was finally gone. She never brought anything but misery and pain. There was a long silence after that, and Nita hoped that Jessie might have left, but she knew better than that. The mechanic was loyal to a fault, and fully dedicated in whatever she chose to invest in. Right now, she was probably sniffling and sobbing as quietly as she could.  
_I'm sorry_ , Jessie suddenly said. Her voice was shaky, confirming that she had been crying. What threw Nita for a loop was why she was apologising.  
_You remember That Time, don't you? Of course you do. I'm sorry for that day,_ Jessie sighed. Then she laughed, a hollow, near demented laugh, saying, _why am I even talking to you now? You probably can't hear me. So I'm just talking to myself. I'm so...gosh, this is messed up, but I don't have the courage to tell you normally, and somehow, even though telling you now changes nothing, it makes me feel better. Selfish old me, huh?_ Jessie ended with another pained laugh. Nita wanted to tell her that was not true at all. Jessie was one of the most caring, selfless people she knew, although part of it was due to her being a child.  
_But, you know, it really is quiet in here..._ Jessie trailed off. Nita couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Jessie was obviously here because of her. But Jessie was an extrovert. She did well in large crowds and noisy events. If a place was quiet, it got to her. Nita fought against the darkness, trying to break free and wake up, but she failed. She sank back into the dark exhausted.  
_Ah! You can hear me?_ Jessie asked, obviously eagerly waiting for a response. When none came, she sighed in disappointment.  
_I'll just...keep talking, then. Maybe you can wake up halfway through_. Jessie sounded downcast. Nita tried to fight to get out, but she was tired, and only managed to feebly trash for a few seconds before she gave up.  
_That Day...it was a Solo Showdown...Rockwall Brawl, right? I think so. You always did well on that map. Me, not so much, but I was still pretty decent. I... I thought, that even though it was a Solo Showdown, if I found you we could team up. We always did. Then we just fought it out at the end. But that day, when I found you...I had never seen you like that_ , Jessie confessed. Nita sat quietly in the dark, listening, ashamed that she let Jessie see that side of her. She should have controlled herself better. She should not have let herself get out of hand.  
_You looked so...feral_ , Jessie continued. _So wild. And you turned to me, and you looked so unlike yourself. I was scared. I didn't understand. You never got that way before. But I thought, you were still Nita, right? So I persisted with my offer for a team. But you didn't answer, just kept staring at me, and I was scared. I ran. And you chased, you were so fast, I couldn't out run you. And I saw you just...killing. Anyone in your way, you fought, and you won. But you were fighting so... inhumanely_. Jessie broke off with a sob.  
_Then you attacked me, and I thought that it was fine, it was normal, it was a Solo Showdown. But you didn't attack like normal. It was like watching you possessed by a bear, and I was so scared for you. What if you could never go back to being human? I would have lost my best friend, and you didn't even tell me you had this problem! You didn't tell me, and I didn't understand it, I couldn't help you, and you looked so lost inside yourself! And though you hurt me...I saw it. You just crashed back into your body. You looked so confused. Then you found you hurt me, and I was dying, and you looked so horrified...I knew it wasn't you. You weren't the one that did all that. I wanted to tell you it was fine, but it was kind of hard to talk so I just smiled at you. I didn't get it. Why were you apologising? I'm the one who ran and triggered you_ , Jessie poured out, seemingly unable to stop, her words getting faster and faster as if to speed through this painful recollection.  
_You didn't get first place, did you, though?_ Jessie suddenly asked. Nita sighed. Of course she didn't. She was so busy crying, anyone could stomp up from behind and she wouldn't know. But they left her alone, and fought among themselves. True, she had high power points- something that boosted stats for the duration of the Showdown. They spawned inside of boxes littering the Showdown map, and each box only gave way by attacking it with magic. But, besides the fact that she had high power points, she was vulnerable. Open for attack. But nothing came. She just sat beside Jessie, screaming for her to stay alive. Then Jessie disappeared in a flash of light, and she knelt sobbing as the poison gas, as it did on every Showdown map, closed in. First she felt numb. Then she fell onto her side. Then she disappeared in a flash of light. She spawned back in the waiting room with second place.  
_I wanted to say sorry, and get an explanation. But you never came the next day. Or the next. Or the next. Or ever after, actually_ , Jessie concluded gloomily. Nita winced. When it was put that way...she was a pretty horrible person.  
_I realised you were avoiding me. I thought...I thought you were angry at me_. Jessie said brokenly. She took a moment before continuing bravely, _then the Sheriff came out. He explained to all of us that you were struggling with keeping the bear side of you at bay, and staying human. I felt so bad. I never thought that having a strong familiar had a bad side. I always asked you to summon your bear. I always asked you to describe it. I a-a-always said I wished I was y-you. And you never s-s-stopped me! No matter how hard it must have b-been, you always went with it! For what? What was worth your suffering??_ Jessie cried, her voice rising. Nita looked away guiltily. That was at once a difficult question to answer, and a easy question to answer. Then again, she didn't have to answer. She was trapped in this dark place.  
_What...what made you think it was alright...to hurt yourself to make others smile?_ Jessie sobbed. Nita didn't have a good answer. She didn't even have an answer. Sacrifice was normal and expected. She didn't see how she could justify it. But for now, she had to wake up. Jessie was crying, and she needed a hug whether she said so or not. It might be awkward, and potentially dangerous, but Nita was the only one around to give Jessie that hug. She owed this to her, especially after hearing what she put Jessie through.  
She fought. She trashed and clawed her way out of the embrace of the darkness. It didn't want to let her go, and pulled her back, trying to keep her with it. She kicked at it, snarling as she tried to get away.  
**STAY**. The word tumbled around in her head. She glared at it, fighting harder, but she was tiring and she knew it. She turned to another method. She charged her magic, letting her shockwave rip through whatever counted as the floor here. Like all magic, it gave off some light. The dark recoiled from it, giving her a precious few seconds to get out. She ran from it. She had to wake up, she knew that. She understood that she was asleep right now.  
The darkness reached for her again, coiling around her, trying to lull her back to the peaceful state she was in previously. She fired another attack. Out. She had to get out. If nothing else, for Jessie.  
"That day...I lost the Showdown, but I didn't just lose that. I lost you. My best friend. The worst part is that it's all my fault!" Jessie cried, albeit more composedly. This time, Nita could hear the mechanic, and that motivated her. She was waking up, she knew she was. She just had to keep fighting. She unleashed another attack at the darkness, running in no particular direction. She was technically running into more darkness, but only the one behind chased her.  
"Maybe, i-if I had realised...! I could have h-helped you, or at least not m-made it w-worse! But you didn't tell me! Why...why? I told you all my problems, and you always helped me through, so w-why didn't out t-tell me? I could have helped...I...I...I didn't even realise..." Jessie cried, getting hysterical again. Nita was determined to wake up. And the mass of black seemed determined to make her stay. It was a battle of willpower. The dark was bigger, stronger, but Nita had Jessie crying for her and the majority of her life, she had one philosophy, one motivation, one goal.  
For Jessie.  
Jessie was a great friend, her only friend. Jessie helped her make more friends, but never pushed too hard either. No matter what Jessie wanted, if it was possible, Nita would do it with no hesitation, no matter what. Such as the comfort she desperately needed right now.  
Nita roared as she pushed against the darkness with every ounce of her willpower. It reared its ugly head, and that was when Nita noticed that she could see it. The best way to describe it was that she was in a black room, with the darkness in it. Now the room was getting lighter, and the darkness was exposed, no longer having cover. She hoped the lightening room meant she was waking up. She ran for now, just buying time until she could wake up. She had a feeling whatever was chasing her was growing weaker, and when she next glanced back, it had shrunk considerably. She released another attack, and this time she could see that there was an effect. Slowly, the darkness shrunk into a small, harmless blob. By now, the room was light grey. She was waking up, she was sure. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them... she was still in the grey room. She glared at it. Couldn't things go her way, and be romantic and story-like for once? She closed her eyes again. She willed herself to be awake when she opened her eyes, to see Jessie, firmly believing it.  
This time she found herself in one of the hospital's rooms. Granted, there were only three rooms, and one of them was Poco's, but it was as big of a hospital as it could get. After all, it was actually a house. Poco's house. Jessie was sobbing in a chair next to the bed. Nita hesitated, before deciding that it would not really be alright to hug her. Instead, she asked quietly, "'ess?"  
Jessie gasped, pulling her hands away from her face. She stared at Nita with wide, puffy eyes, before tearing up all over again. She scrambled into the bed, hugging Nita tightly.  
"I t-thought you would n-n-never wake u-up..." She sobbed, then added in a quieter tone, "I thought you l-left me all over a-again..." Nita crooned in a comforting manner, returning the hug gingerly and gently. Jessie wouldn't stop crying, so Nita hummed, swaying softly, patting the other's back.  
But Jessie wouldn't calm down either. After the initial reaction, she just cried more, apologising over and over again.  
"I-it's all m-my fault!" She kept sobbing. Nita could barely get a word in. She patiently asked Jessie to explain in between the broken sobbing. Jessie seemed too distraught to say anything, and Nita understood that, giving Jessie space and time. Jessie seemed to compose herself after crying herself dry. She still sniffled, hiccuping miserably, but no more tears appeared. There was a moment of silence.  
"I was foolish, naive." Jessie suddenly blurted. Nita blinked slowly. Yes, Jessie was famously innocent. She was a child in body, and in spirit. It was what drew Nita in like the bear she was to honey, made her want more, and simultaneously made her pull herself away. She was enchanted by the sweet personality Jessie possessed, and afraid of corrupting it. She wanted to protect Jessie, to make her happy, and she was going to kill whoever had dared shatter Jessie's ideal little world.  
"They told me they found a way to hunt the animals everywhere. They told me I could help them. They told me I could be a hero." Jessie said quietly. Her voice trembled, but stayed steady. Nita could already feel the anger boiling, demanding to explode. They lied? Well, then they would die.  
"They gave me all the specifications. They wanted to be able to vary the output, for different sizes of animals. They wanted the shot to move fast to connect. They wanted it to run off magic. That should have set off alarm bells. But I was too trusting to take notice," Jessie continued bitterly. She scowled at the floor, and then added venomously," I hate them." She turned away, still gripping Nita's hands. When she turned back, her posture was more resigned, her face tired, as she raised her eyes to make eye contact.  
"At least, I want to..." Jessie trailed off quietly. " But I can't help but still love them. Even after they tricked me into making something that would hurt you. Because I'm selfish," Jessie confessed. She looked away guiltily.  
"I'm glad they made you stay because you're with me," Jessie ground out. Nita blinked in surprise at the revelation. She thought for sure Jessie hated her, and would want little to do with her. But Jessie hated herself, and wanted to be with Nita as much as possible. Nita barely hesitated before moving in to hug Jessie. The returned hug was swift and tight, and full of the phrase, "don't let go, please don't let go". So she didn't let go. No matter how undeserving she felt of the hug, she never stopped. If Jessie wanted a hug, she would get a hug.  
For Jessie.  
"We're still friends, right? You still love me?" Jessie asked shakily, pulling away from the hug. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, her round face streaked with tears, and she looked like a wreck. There were stray strands of hair that had fallen out of the braids she usually sported, and her face had red splotches. Her eyes reflected the undaring hope and desperate dream Jessie held tight and dear, the broken light of determination and shattered trust she harboured within, and still the undying love shone bright and true from within. It was a heartbreaking sight, the very picture of a pure and loving heart beaten again and again and still loving freely, and Nita felt something in her break. She pulled Jessie in for another hug as way of answer, and this time it was her that didn't want to let go.  
When they both finally calmed down, it was late. Then again, she had been unconscious for the better part of the day, and their little heart spill took nearly an hour. Pam didn't appear for the whole day, and Nita was conflicted over that. On one hand, she was extremely glad that Pam had not shown her face. On the other, she was bitterly disappointed. Poco offered to walk her back, while Colt insisted on tagging along. But Jessie seemed less than happy for Colt to be with Nita, and ended up in the little group as well.  
Nita did not like how Jessie was still trying to be with her, but Jessie seemed elated that they were spending time together, continuing old traditions. So did she complain? Of course she didn't.  
Nita smiled all the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting closer to the bottom of the mystery...! Just a little bit more...and the whole story is moot. I did say that there was going to be a new brawler somewhere in the summary, right? And do you see a new brawler? I don't know, I think I do, but he keeps disappearing after appearing. I can't be sure.  
> Anyway, hopefully you thought this was interesting! I thought it was. Jessie being a little too big mouthed for my liking, considering we are only 8 chapters in, but she's a kid. And now you see why Nita isn't just a good person: she's a kid too, and children do tend to have nicer personalities.  
> I really should stop handing out plot information, but...ah...chapter 9...what have I done, clumping so much progress together, and leaving earlier chapters stagnant...oh well. No regrets. Life only moves forward.  
> Also, also, 1 point to you if you can correctly guess who 'they' are.


	14. Chapter 9 - Pirates and Beasts

Nita woke peacefully. She stretched while still in bed, falling limp with a sigh. That was awesome. She snuggled into her bed, glad for the peace and quiet.  
"Good morning, sweetie! Rise and shine!" A voice sang. Nita felt her eye twitch. Of course said peace and quiet would be broken while she was appreciating it. Her luck worked that way. A dainty hand met her upper arm. It felt unnaturally smooth, and was cool to the touch. Nita had had an idea of who this was, and now her idea was confirmed.  
"Oh, sweetie, do get up," the voice continued. Only one person had such a refined voice, wore gloves, and used the nickname 'sweetie'. Nita sighed as she rolled over. Wide chocolate eyes and a pretty smile swam into view. Visual assessment complete.  
"Ooud mournin', i-err." Nita said politely. Piper was a lady that way. You had to give her an answer or she would bug you endlessly. Said lady smiled wider at the response, clapping her hands together twice in an elegant sort of way.  
"Yes indeed, Nita. Unfortunately, we have not been graced with weather such as in our greeting," Piper said smoothly. She always used extravagant language and sentence structures, and each one was actually grammatically correct. For the rest of them 'uncultured swines', however, it was absolute torture understanding anything that came out of Piper's mouth.  
"Then again, that is of little matter. Here," Piper produced an umbrella, handing it to Nita. It was a rich purple, with a solid, normal looking structure. It was nothing like the horrendous baby pink and deadly sniper rifle umbrella Piper used as her weapon. "That is for you. I will be using my own umbrella, as usual." The sniper added. Nita blinked in surprise. If it was raining, she would rather go play in the rain, not use an umbrella. Wet and dirty and fun was good, better than dry and clean and bored. She picked up the umbrella anyway, actually having no idea how to use it. Piper moved out of the door, umbrella up and shielding her in the blink of an eye.  
"Come now, sweetheart. Let us proceed onwards," Piper called. Nita followed. She stepped out, lifting her face and basking in the rain. She forgot about the umbrella instantly as she spotted the puddles. She jumped into one, laughing wildly at the splash.  
"Wha- Nita!" Piper cried out in horror. Nita blinked at her in surprise. She grinned as she leapt into another puddle. Splash. Splash. Splish. She slipped in her last jump, producing a less than satisfying splash. She fell to the ground, rolling over. Now she was covered in mud. But she wasn't deterred. She jumped up, leaping at another puddle.  
Splash! Nita laughed from her position on the ground. A whole body splash was awesome!  
"Oh my stars! Do not do that!" Piper cried. She was holding the purple umbrella open. "Here, come here and take shelter." For some reason, Nita suddenly felt self conscious. She was amused the first time Piper called, but all of a sudden she was ashamed. She shuffled over, taking the umbrella quietly. How could she have behaved like a small 5 year old? She was more mature than that. She was better than that. She followed Piper silently, shamed into silence. She furiously berated herself over and over, and the more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she got.  
"You know," Piper started, "sometimes, among everything else, I forget. You always behave so maturely, so responsibly...I keep thinking you are just a small sized adult. I cannot help but forget...you really are still just a child." Nita growled, utterly mortified.  
"Ah'm not!" She snarled in protest. Piper just smiled sadly, shaking her head.  
"Of course not. You really are all grown up, are you not?" The sincerity in her tone made Nita debate over the question for a long moment, trying to decide if Piper was doing one of her rare sarcastic speeches. Even after accepting it as a proper question, Nita was thrown for a loop by the question in negative. She finally nodded her head, and Piper sighed heavily.  
"That is what I thought." She said, and her voice was heavy with pain and regret. She turned into a house, opening the door. Nita paused, unsure if she should step in and dirty Piper's house.  
"Here we are. Just step in, sweetie. Go straight to the ladies room to wash yourself, alright?" Nita stepped in, making a beeline for the toilet. She only emerged after scrubbing herself thoroughly, letting Big Baby Bear clean out what he needed to, and changing to a new set of clothes. She came out relatively happy and relaxed. Baths had that effect on her. What she saw instantly made her shoot to alert and angry.  
Blue hat. Skull clip. Pink hair. Gold earrings. Blue and white striped shirt. Blue pants. Chest. Penny. She had a patronising look on her face, and her usual smug, sharp grin. Nita didn't waste time glaring. She lunged at the pirate, and they fell into a fighting mess on the floor.  
Penny jabbed her gun at Nita, firing the coin bags. Nita winced at the damage, returning the fire with her shockwaves. While waiting for their magic to recharge so that they could fire again, they resorted to traditional, physical means. With the close distance between them, there was absolutely no chance of dodging. Penny threw a punch, and Nita clawed her, drawing on her familiar's magic. Penny growled in anger, spitting out,"you cheater!" Nita ignored that remark in favour of dealing out a kick. Penny fired another shot, and Nita fired two after a moment. Her reload speed was faster than Penny's, and she had Big Baby Bear on her side. She could win. She knew she could. She just needed one more shot.  
She felt the hum of magic from Penny the same time she called on hers. She was fleetingly confused- Penny should not have a shot yet. Then Penny sneered triumphantly, "you ain't the only one with tricks up yer sleeve, Teddy." Nita roared in anger at the nickname, completely losing herself to the rage, and-  
Zap.  
Nita couldn't stop her body moving in all sorts of weird ways. She gasped as she was released from the alien force controlling her body. Penny held the taser smugly. Nita glowered at her as best as she could from her position on the floor.  
"What's wrong, Teddy? Didja git a shock?" Penny cooed mockingly. Nita snarled, rising to the taunt. She only paused when Penny waggled the taser tauntingly. She finally turned away, going to find Piper, Penny following all the way down to gloat. Nita itched to beat up the pirate, but Penny continuously poking her with the taser stopped her. Piper, to her credit, did not comment anything. She surely heard the fight, and the zap, and could see that they were both roughed up. But she kept silent, daintily serving plates of food. She ate delicately. The extra member, Crow, ate normally. Penny shovelled food in her mouth. Nita stuffed food into her mouth as usual.  
"Yer manners be as bad as mine," Penny observed. Nita put more food into her mouth, pointedly staring at the culttery.  
"Yeah, ok, at least ah use these. Ya use yer hands." Penny admitted, waving her fork around, before directing it to deliver food to her mouth.  
"You are all unrefined baboons." Piper stated. Penny roared with laughter, and some chewed up food came back out in the process. Even Nita had to admit that was disgusting, and the Worst Table Manners Award went to Penny for breakfast thanks to that display.  
Nita was still less than happy. She was raging at Penny, but sweet revenge would have to be executed in a discreet manner due to the taser. Crow actually up and disappeared after eating, and she could not find him, so she ignored the bird. She figured he was uncomfortable around her- bears eat crows. His instincts were telling him to get away, and she guessed that he might be hiding on the rooftop or some other high, unreachable place. That was alright. The bird was far away on her list of priorities. Piper was, naturally, way too much of a lady to go traversing the house the way Nita did. She just stood somewhere, occasionally calling, "goodness gracious, sweetie, be careful! Do not get injured!"  
She was also easy to ignore. Penny, on the other hand, was impossible to ignore. She was brash, she was loud, and she was cocky. She sat in boyish manners and did boyish things like shaking her legs. Colt seemed to have told her about the Ricochet incident, or Penny was just used to doing these things herself, because she dodged every one of Nita's dirty tricks. She hopped over Nita, or turned around her, even if Nita kicked out her legs at the last minute. She seemed pretty unfazed when Nita opened the link, instead seeming eager for Nita to call out her bear. She even did the same things to Nita, trying to trip her up, so Nita gave her a wide berth. Tension was rising in their deadly game of cat and mouse. Both of them agitated the other, trying to make the other make the first move. But neither were willing to make that move, and the resulting tension was going sky high. It was best described as the cold war all over again- but between Nita and Penny.  
Lunch was a race of who could eat the fastest, and as a result, the messiest. Nita won, having loads of experience eating fast up her sleeve. Penny used a string of very colourful and creative words, earning herself a lecture from Piper. She was sulky after that, and Nita managed to trip her once in the lapse of concentration. Penny got all the more sulky, and Nita sang, "whart a aild~" Penny had a dangerous look on her face as she snarled, "ah am not a child. De only children be Jessie and you. Mebbe ah be a young adult, but ah'm not a child." Her voice bordered on venomous as she put emphasis on the word 'child', and Nita roared in anger.  
"Ah'm nart a kit!" She snarled.  
"Well, ah'm not either!" Penny shot back. They glared at each other before having a silent agreement not to call each other a child. Nita dropped the topic, and Penny didn't bring it up. Nevertheless, Penny was rather biased. The taser was all but non-existent. Penny seemed more focused on taunting Nita and getting a reaction. Nita returned the favour, and by the time dinner came around, the tension was so thick you could see it. Nita swung her legs forcefully under the table, catching Penny by surprise and making her yelp. There was an evil light in the pirate's eyes as she kicked back. Engaged in their big kicking match, Penny ate much slower, and Nita won the eating match by a long shot.  
In return, Penny invited Nita to sit on the couch with her. She forcibly nudged Nita, so Nita bounced back full force to get her back. The two of them shoved each other under the extremely thin disguise of shifting around. Piper sent Crow out for something, but the two of them were too engrossed to care. Penny suddenly swore after a particularly well placed elbow. Nita pounced on the opportunity to call her a baby. Penny returned some creative names. The name calling was getting heated, quickly escalating into a squabble.  
"Stop that right this instant! You are both acting like children," Piper snapped. Both Nita and Penny turned their attention, and hence their anger, to the sniper.  
"Hey! That be mine!" Penny exclaimed, pointing to the taser in Piper's hands. Piper gave her a stern look.  
"No, this is mine. I lent it to you so that you could protect yourself if Nita attacked you." Piper corrected. Penny stepped forward aggressively, pointing her gun at the sniper. Nita hung back, unwilling to be at the mercy of the taser. Penny could get herself zapped if she wanted to. At the same time, she was pretty annoyed that Piper interrupted her and Penny. After a long debate, she reasoned that Piper couldn't hit both of them, and she stepped forward, towards the right. Penny shifted to the left automatically.  
"Truce?" The pirate asked.  
"Trrune," Nita growled. They turned to their common enemy. Piper narrowed her eyes at them.  
"I see that is how it is going to be. Very well." Piper drew herself up. They moved closer, to cover their own range and reduce damage. Piper was built to be a sniper. Her shots moved faster and dealt more damage the further they travelled. At short range, she was pretty helpless. To their surprise, Piper ran towards them as well. At the last second, she leapt into the air, opening her umbrella. She sailed over their heads, and the grenades she left behind took out a reasonable chunk of their health. She whirled around the moment she landed a safe distance away. There was a whistling sort of sound, and Penny grunted as two of Piper's shots connected in quick succession. Penny's status: down.  
The third shot found Nita. It was quickly followed up by the shot from the Shock Handgun.  
Nita ruefully thought about how every act out ended like this. The shock ran its course through her, and she fell to her knees. Penny was no better. Nita looked up in time to see Penny shuddering, and then suddenly slumping over.  
"Oooooo...dat hurt...how do ya live with... dat... over yer head?" Penny moaned. She sat up slowly, groaning all the way.  
"As the sheriff would say, stand down. Get into the standard surrender position, please." Piper said. The taser was pointed at them, but she was a reasonable distance away that Nita wasn't quite sure who it was pointed at. She wasn't a sniper, after all. She was a medium range brawler. Her eyesight was neither that good nor that accurate. Penny frowned in obvious annoyance.  
"Ya can't order me round. Watcha gonna do if ah don't, eh?" Penny grumbled testily, getting to her feet defiantly. Nita saw a flash, and Penny froze halfway through. She face planted into the floor after a moment.  
"Goodness gracious, Penny, just follow instructions," Piper sighed. Nita was less than interested in getting the same treatment. She had learned that compliance was key while the taser was involved. She shuffled her way onto her knees, lacing her hands behind her head. She bent over until the bear snout touched the ground. There was a moment of silence, then Nita heard some shuffling, and she guessed that Penny had followed.  
"Now what?" The pirate huffed, irritation edging her voice. Piper laughed, a melodious sound. Nita could sense Penny's rising annoyance, but before she could snap, Piper replied, "Now we wait for the sheriff to grace us with his presence. I already sent Crow out to fetch him when the two of you began to fight. I suspect that he will be arriving right about..." Piper trailed off just in time. The door burst open, and someone shouted the all too famous phrase.  
"Halt in the name of the law!" Nita sighed. Penny groaned. Piper finished her sentence, adding, "now." There followed a short period of relative silence, filled with murmurs from Piper, then Penny yelped.  
"Ow ow owowOW! Leggo! What did I do?" Nita risked glancing sideways. Colt was squatting beside Penny. He had a firm grip on one ear, an impressive feat considering her earrings, and he was pulling. He had a frown on his face, directing a stern look at Penny, who was currently flailing.  
"You were supposed to take care of Nita. I asked if you could manage that, and you agreed. I specifically told you not to antagonise Nita. But that's what you did, isn't it?" Penny yelped as he pulled harder.  
"Stop that! Ah'm not a kid, don't treat me like one! Leggo- OW!" Penny cut herself off as Colt pulled harder still.  
"Yes, you are a kid. Even if you are not, you acted like one, so I'm going to treat you as one." Colt replied firmly. "Now listen here. You agreed that you could do this like every other grown-up, so you better do it well. You will not provoke Nita, and you will stop her if she tries to run or acts out. That is it. Do not do anything more, or anything less. Got it?" He demanded.  
"Ya, ya! Ow, I said yes! Stop it, don't pull harder, ow, leggo! I geddit, I geddit!" Penny rambled. Colt finally released her, and she scrambled away, probably to sulk in some corner. Then Colt turned his glare to Nita, and she sheepishly turned her gaze back to the floor.  
"You are at fault here too, got it? You should not be fighting these kinds of battles. And especially do not fight Piper. Really, now, why do you keep acting out?" Colt chided. Surprisingly, the scolding was pretty light, and no death grip befell her ear.  
"No fair!" Penny called from somewhere.  
"You're at fault here," Colt called back, and silence met his response. Nita was strangely grateful that Colt was sort of defending her. Then again, she supposed that seeing the same person everyday built bonds wonderfully. Of course, there was the selfish reason that she had. If she didn't focus, she could imagine a bulkier build, the silly hairstyle, and Mama, not just Mama, but her Mama, would be right beside her. She would throw her arms open, smiling wide and happy, and engulf Nita in a tight, warm hug, laughing heartily, and the moment she was set down she would be in a smaller but equally tight hug, and it would be warm. Mama and Sis would run on ahead, and she would be right after them, in a home of warmth and love and-  
"Nita." Said person blinked a couple of times, focusing her vision. With it, her little fantasy faded away, and Nita was left with an aching sense of loss and longing deep within her. Colt was studying her face, and she swore he knew what she just thought about just by looking at her face.  
"Do you want to go home early?" He asked. Nita hesitated. Then she realised that there was absolutely nothing to do here anyway. But perhaps, if she left early, Colt would tag along, and she could lose herself in her fantasy for a little while longer. How ironic that she wanted to be with the one she feared. She nodded. Colt was discussing something with Piper. He broke off their conversation.  
"Who do you want to go with?" He asked bluntly. Nita was surprised by the question. She hadn't had a proper choice in a while. Unless this was also a trick? Nevertheless, if this was a proper question, and she answered the technically correct answer... All the thinking was making her head hurt.  
"Rolt." She replied as bluntly as Colt. He turned and exchanged a few more words with Piper. Then he exited, gesturing for Nita to follow. As she stepped out, he offered her his hand. Without thinking, she slipped her hand into his. It was a natural act to do. The warmth enclosed her left hand. A smaller patch of warmth occupied her right hand. Mama smiled down at her, gentle and loving. She led them onwards, and Nita turned to her right. Sis grinned at her, ever excitable. She bounced along, and Nita laughed as she started skipping. The two of them bobbed along the roads, and even Mama chuckled. She jogged after them, keeping pace easily with her larger stride. Nita laughed as she let go, spreading her arms and running ahead like an aeroplane.  
"Mama, Sish, loock! Ah'm ah ar-ro-ane!" Nita shouted happily, whirling around, arms spread. She froze, smile dying out and happiness leaching out of her. It was Colt that was right behind her, not her Ma- not who she had imagined it was. Her fantasy aruptly fizzled out, leaving Nita stranded in cold reality. Colt had a sad slope to his eyes, and he gave her a sad, pitious look.  
"You really miss them, don't you." He said quietly. It wasn't really a question, and it didn't need an answer. He knew, she could see it written all over his sad little face. She turned away quietly, continuing to walk normally. There was nothing to say. For one moment, she had been lost, and she had loved it. Uncomfortable silence stretched between them.  
It wasn't raining anymore.  
"You looked really happy." Colt suddenly commented. Nita ignored him, tears pricking her eyes at the loss of her fantasy again. The pain was lodged painfully, more so than usual, making the tears gather unwittingly.  
"You were smiling, really smiling. Not your fierce one. Then you just started skipping, and I heard you laugh." He said, sounding amazed or awed. Nita could feel the hot tears streak down her cheeks at the reminder of what she had lost. Her Mama. Her Sis. Her home. Her joy. Her peace. Her love. Her compassion. Her humanity.  
Herself.  
And it was all her fault.  
She broke into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Colt was guiding her somewhere, but she was not exactly coherent. She drifted off to some fuzzy part of the mind, and whether she ever reached her house, or just ended up bunking somewhere, she did not know. The only thing she was aware of was the same phrase playing over and over in her head.  
_It's all your fault._  
_It's all your fault._  
_It's all your fault._  
_It's all your fault._  
_It's all your-_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Nita. If only you knew...  
> This was the chapter that broke my heart, and prompted me to add in the sad warning tag. What can I say, I'm a soft hearted person who really needs to stop being so dramatic. Now, I myself am not clear where exactly the flash backs start and end, so you peeps are going to have to be a little discerning and start drawing your own boundaries. I would just like to add that there is bad blood between Nita and Penny because something happened, and maybe one of these days I shall be inspired to write an extra little chapter on it. Probably not. So please use your imagination and fill in that insignificant little plot hole with some crazy story that you can come up with, and hence obtain a complete story.  
> Anyway, this will not do! Throwing out spoilers, feeding you all plot...at this rate i might as well close the story. Quite the problem, isn't it? Well, whatever. I did promise to stop stagnation of story plot, right?


	15. Chapter 10 - Work Hard Play Much

Nita didn't think that there was anything wrong, when she woke up. She thought that she should be not feeling fine, as if there was something that happened that she should be upset about, but for now she ignored it. Temporarily forgetting it was fine. It made her a coward for choosing to ignore it, but ignorance was bliss, they said.  
"Hey, you feeling good?" Someone asked softly. She blinked at the bright yellow portable sun right beside her bed. She nodded, grateful that he was here. Then again, if he was here, it was probably a horrible affair that happened yesterday. She opened her arms, a silent plea for a hug, and Poco obliged. She melted into the hug, glad for the comfort. Her memory was slowly catching up with her, and she sobbed, clinging to the healer for all she was worth. He hummed quietly, barely loud enough for her to hear, rocking slowly.  
Nita didn't think she could ever face Colt again. She should never have let herself fantasise. She shouldn't have imagined him to be M- that person. She shouldn't have done a lot of things, actually. The regret coiled heavy in her stomach, slithering upwards to squeeze her heart painfully. She was just so tired of making mistakes. She hiccuped, the tears virtually non-existent by now. She wiped her face clean, pulling away from Poco.  
"Better now?" He asked gently. Nita nodded. She was a big girl. She could handle this. She got out of bed, striding out of the door, sending a clear signal that she wanted to move on. Poco hopped to his feet, looping his arm around his guitar.  
"Well, then, let's go! You'll be at my house today. Cool, right?" He chirped, more like his usual self. He ran ahead, then ran back to meet Nita again. Back and forth, back and forth. Nita couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face. She walked a little faster, and a little lighter. He hopped into his house, and Nita followed, without the thought of running ever crossing her mind. The purple haired girl who had followed Colt to stop her from killing Bull was lounging on the couch. Shelly, Nita thought, wondering how she could forget someone she had lived with her whole life. Shelly had turned up during the whole false call on Big Baby Bear, too. It was Ricochet that was the deputy, though, not Shelly, and Nita knew it was because Shelly could be a little too quick to charge ahead sometimes. No bark, all bite.  
She could see an outline of someone in the shadows, and she had an idea who it was. Like Piper, this was a one of a kind person who dressed in all black with rich purple accents. There was a simple purple bat shaped clip holding a black cape secured over his chest, covering the majority of his purple shirt, and a band of purple marked his hat. A large shovel with two little spikes rested on the floor, supported by pale hands. A lantern framed by black iron hung from the end of the shovel's handle, resembling a bat, with it's mouth gaping wide. Yes, it was none other than Mortis.  
He came the closest to understanding Nita, but she didn't talk to him for a reason. He was ancient. It was obvious that he had some vampire genes in him. His age showed, but he actually looked much younger than he was. His hair had not bleached white, unlike Dynamike, and he looked maybe 50. In truth, he had to be nearly 130, and that was quite a feat to manage. His ears were pointed, his nose was pointed and way longer than normal, his skin was pale with a purple tint, and the dark rings around his eyes were not from a lack of sleep. It all screamed not human, and considering the vampire bats he called his pretties...  
Surprisingly, he had no fangs to drink blood, he couldn't hypnotise others, he could not turn into a bat, and he definitely had a reflection. Then again, folklore is generally wrong. Rather, he gathered magic to form bats, sending them to fly and take energy on his behalf. He dashed forth with his trusty shovel, inflicting damage without breaking skin, which Nita greatly admired. He had to have his own version of bloodlust, but he was always in control, and so calm and collected. Nita had once seriously considered training to be an assassin like Mortis, thinking that was the key. She gave up after realising she just wasn't built for it.  
"Greetings my friend, and how are you?" He spoke. His voice was sharp and had a strange lilt to it that made it seem eerie. This was especially so when there was nothing but the glow from his lantern, illuminating him with sharp, scary angles. He moved out of the shadows slightly, though his face remained cast in darkness due to his hat.  
"Cut it out, Mort. You'll scare her," Shelly muttered from the couch. She jerked her head at Nita, demanding,"ate yet?" Shelly was coarse that way. Then again, she was not perceptive like Colt, and Nita nodded her head, hoping she would buy it. Shelly didn't even question it. She just grunted, and turned away.  
"But, Nita, you haven't eaten yet..." Poco whispered urgently, tugging her arm. Nita growled, pulling her arm away. It was a clear signal that it was a matter of not wanting to eat rather than really having eaten. She moved away, and Poco ran after her, floundering to come up with something. It was kind of comical.  
"But, I thought you should eat! I know you don't want to, but, but! It's, erm, vital, yes, and, and...important!" He protested. Nita snarled, narrowing her eyes at him. She was by no means taller, but Poco shield away, cowering under her wrath, making her tower over him. She glowered at him for a long, meaningful moment, then turned away. Poco was a pretty sturdy brawler, but his nervous nature made his first instinct to always play defensive. It was easy to intimidate him. He had stopped following her, and she was glad for it.  
"NITA!!" Shelly roared, shattering any semblance of quiet for a radius of at least five houses. "GET HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" On second thought, she should have kept him in sight to prevent him from ratting her out. She went back anyway, because you don't make Shelly angry. Her fuse was as short as Bull, and her tempers every bit as explosive. The tank killer was standing now. She pointed at Nita in something like an accusatory way. It probably was.  
"You haven't eaten, huh?? That sure isn't what you told me!" Shelly all but yelled. She jabbed a hand at Poco aggressively. He flinched, but Shelly only demanded, "plate. Now." He ran off gladly, returning quickly with a plate of food. At least it wasn't the same old thing. He had aquired bread, and it was stuffed with berries. It smelled heavenly, and Nita gladly accepted the plate and took a bite under Shelly's glower. The sweet taste of the berries exploded in her mouth, and was beautifully complemented by the bread. The bread itself carried a mildly smoky taste, with soft insides and sightly crispy crust. It was exactly as she remembered it tasting- home and love and Mama. The rest was gone within seconds.  
Nita licked her fingers clean, and for the first time since the rotation started, she asked for more.  
"You...you want more?" Poco asked, wonder in his tone. Nita nodded eagerly, and a bright and happy smile broke across his face. He claimed the plate and ran off to the kitchen, all sorts of noise instantly coming out. There was the sound of banging cupboards or drawers, pans clanging... It sounded like Poco mastered that ninja trick of splitting into multiple duplicates, and all of them were cooking all at once. The aroma wafted out of the kitchen after a moment, and Shelly asked, "is it really that good?" When Nita nodded, she shouted, "Oi! Make me some too!" There was no response, prompting the fighter to stride into the kitchen and yell in Poco's face.  
He was lucky he was a skeleton who had no eardrums to burst.  
When Poco gave her a second berry bun, still warm, she dug into it, before deciding on slowing down to make it last. She even licked the plate clean, making Poco chuckle.  
"Come on, Nita, it can't be that good!" He laughed.  
"Ish." Nita told him seriously, and he seemed rather taken aback. Really, as a healer, he dealt with all sorts of cases before, and cooked for his patients often. Furthermore, he was elected to be one of her caretakers. That should say something about his cooking abilities. She didn't understand why he was so surprised that he cooked good food.  
She was also pleasantly surprised by the time period after breakfast. The healer had actually planned activities to do together. Barley was expressive, but was still a robot. He simply didn't understand fun or play. Caretaking was way out of Bull's league. He only knew how to cook and look after someone because of Poco. The two had gotten into a fight, and Poco insulted Bull's lack of ability to care for anyone. Bull took that as a challenge, and turned up on her doorstep demanding to know how to cook. He more or less managed to learn to take care of someone, but it was against his nature, and he could not fulfil the finer delicacies of caretaking. As for Dynamike...  
Dynamike was special.  
And Ricochet, well, he was a robot like Barley. Except worse. Ricochet was wired to protect and kill. Fun and games could not be explained to him, and he would not even pretend to try. She had skipped the day with Pam Junker thanks to her blackout, and Piper was just too ladylike for games. She believed 'girls and ladies should partake in sophisticated activities such as sewing, weaving, embroidery, or knitting'. Nita thought one clothier was quite enough, considering Piper's wide range of talents. It had not stopped Piper from trying to teach every girl weaving before, though. Naturally, it failed.  
But here she was with Poco. He sprawled on the floor with her, drawing nonsensical shapes and squiggles. He sent his magic to twirl round and round her in dizzying patterns, daring her to try and catch them. He ran after her, all over the house in a ridiculous game of tag. He played hide and seek with her, comparing ingenious hiding spots in an environment unsuited to hide anything.  
Lunch turned around the corner, and he included her, letting her choose what she wanted to eat. He let her help him cook. They laughed, making an utter mess, and the best part was that Poco didn't mind. They made a delicious lunch of fried rice that everyone could appreciate. Then they cleared up together.  
"Hey, Nita, does your bear ever want to come out?" Poco asked curiously. Nita paused midway in wiping the table clean. She nodded tersely after a short hesitation. Poco looked away.  
"Oh. But, um, no one lets you anymore, right...I, erm, just gotta talk with Shelly. Real quick!" Poco said in a rush, then ran off. He always had a lot of energy, and some of it was almost always nervous energy. Nita wondered why he felt stressed enough to get away. She continued her task.  
"WHAT????" Shelly roared. Nita flinched at the loud, unexpected noise, and at the raw anger in the shortgunner's tone. There was a short pause, then the shouting resumed, though notably softer.  
"How could you ask something like that??" Shelly demanded. She sounded enraged. Nita peeked out of the kitchen to find the cause of this outburst. To her surprise, it was Poco that stood face to face with Shelly. Although 'face to face' might not have been an accurate description.  
To be accurate, Poco was backed up against the wall, pressed as flat as he could get against it, away from the purple haired menace in front of him. Said menace was glowering at him, standing in front of him. Her position prevented him from sliding onwards to the floor, lest he bump into her, and his position prevented him from moving backwards anymore.  
Shelly said something else, but her voice was too low for Nita to make out what the words were, so she went back to her task before Shelly caught her. Poco joined her after a long while. He was quiet, and Nita didn't pry. The activities seemed to have ended for the day, though. Poco led her outside, sitting with her on the grassy floor. Shelly was standing in the doorway watching them, probably there to ensure Nita did not run, but it was worth it for the sun. Poco passed a bottle to her, telling her it was Barley's new mix. It was sweet and salty, something like liquid magic, and it coincidentially shared the same name. It made her tingle all over with energy, something like what she experienced whenever she gained excess magic.  
It was exactly the same. She stopped to peer at the contents carefully. She checked her magic reserves, and found a definite increase. Just a bit more and she would probably be able to summon her bear.  
"Go ahead, friend. I trust you." Poco suddenly said. He tilted his head towards the her, and smiled at her openly. But she could see that he was scared, and was trying not to be. He was shivering ever so slightly, and he played with he grass, having left his guitar in the house. His fingers moved according to a soundless beat only he could hear. His eyes darted to her.  
"Don't you want to summon your bear...? You can, you know." He sounded curious, apprehensive. Nita connected everything in a flash of inspiration. Poco asked her in the kitchen, then ran off to ask Shelly. He somehow stood his ground and convinced her, and obtained some sort of magic replenisher- probably his and Barley's work. And he was going to sit there, right next to her, without his guitar. He was completely defenseless, vulnerable, and within comfortable range of her familiar. They could attack him and he couldn't even run because he was sitting down. It was the most insane show of trust she had ever seen, especially when she was considered dangerous enough to be under watch.  
"Oou arr wrae-zi," she told him. He laughed at the statement with more than a hint of nervousness.  
"I know, and you love it," he replied. Nita chuckled, shaking her head as she took a last gulp from the bottle. Then she roared at the sky, and Big Baby Bear appeared in a flash of light, snarling and ready for battle. She instantly calmed him down, showing him that all was peaceful, and he was here as an outing. He rumbled in appreciation, giving Poco a good bear thank you. In other words, he licked the healer.  
Poco squealed in surprise, giggling as he was licked again. He squirmed with a silly smile on his face, and Nita narrowed her eyes, crawling closer. She poked him in the neck experimentally, meeting hard bone, and Poco laughed, pushing her hand away.  
"Stop that! It tickles!" He protested. An evil gleam found its home in Nita's eyes, and she ginned at him. Ticklish, he said?  
"Oh don't you dare!" He cried, scrambling to get away, but it was too late. Nita pounced, pinning him to the ground. He made an adorable squeaky noise, trying to get away, but she was already at work. She tried the stomach area, poking and wriggling her fingers. She was disappointed to find empty air, but there were always more places. She moved upwards, wedging her fingers under his arms, and he squawked. He seemed to have lost his ability to produce human words, and Nita purred as she worked ruthlessly, turning the healer into a laughing mess.  
When she finally let up, he was wheezing for air. He dragged himself into a sitting position, and her familiar licked him again. Nita smiled as she started grooming her familiar, running the same fingers that had demolished Poco through his fur. He stretched out, letting her do her thing. She picked out anything that should not be there, roughly raking the fur in the correct direction. He was big, and she was small, but they were both glad to spend about half an hour on this. She climbed off, and Big Baby Bear was getting up to groom her, when Poco spoke up.  
"Gucchi gucchi~" he sang, running his fingers along her sides. She gasped, falling to the floor, trying not to laugh.  
"Nart tic-eash," she told him.  
"Really...? Not ticklish? So, you don't mind if I do this...or this...or this?" Poco asked, poking her each time he said the word 'this'. He moved expertly, and Nita could not help the giggle that escaped. Poco paused at the giggle.  
"Oh? Whatever could this be? Could it be...?" He wondered aloud comically, before his smile widened. He tackled her sides, and she burst out laughing. She gasped for breath in between all the laughing that she was doing, and Poco moved all over the place, trying to find a sweet spot.  
"Ticklish!" He finally pronounced, and then he let up. Nita was panting for air, and now she knew exactly how Poco felt. Big Baby Bear was there to groom her, licking her clean, rumbling with laughter. Nita laughed breathlessly, shoving him affectionately. This was awesome. Poco was awesome. She smiled, playing the rest of the day away. It was the most fun she had sinc- in a long time, and it was wonderful. Her bear returned peacefully, without the need to kill him, and she and Poco talked all the way home. Well, he talked and she listened, but it was the same thing.  
Shelly was watching her as she slept, she knew that. But Nita ignored it, since she couldn't see the shotgunner anyway, and fell asleep all too easily. Her sleep was deep and restful, calm and undisturbed that night, and finally, she had a peaceful dream. It was beautiful, and most importantly...  
Perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean who thinks Shelly is a good person she's totally badass and has a pirate skin-what? Shelly's a cute person who is highly stubborn, determined and would totally save your skin a million times. Just look at all the Supercell videos featuring her.  
> I took some liberties with Poco, by the way. I love Poco. Who doesn't love Poco? He's so cute, especially the 'poco goes loco!' line and in that voice too. He seems pretty fun loving, and possibly easy to scare, so why not?  
> Obviously Nita likes Poco- he's one of the most easy going brawlers who humours whatever fantasies she cooks up(especially the one of not being a kid), and treats her with proper respect.  
> By the way, does anyone know that Big Baby Bear actually has a name? And more importantly, what it is? I would start a guessing competition but it's not like it's a huge reader base. Still, would you like to try and guess Big Baby Bear's name?? Potential rewards potentially exist, maybe.


	16. Chapter 11 - Double Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations PancakePastries for correctly guessing Big Baby Bear's name! His name is _Bruce_.

Nita hummed as she walked with a bounce in her step. Yesterday had been beautiful, putting her in a good mood today. Tara was walking her to the next stop, which seemed to be Tara's own house. This put her in a even better mood- the less distance she had to cover, the better. The happy mood she had carried on through the day, putting her on near perfect behaviour. She ate breakfast with as good manners as she could muster. She found ways to entertain herself- Tara and Spike, like the rest, had no inkling of fun. Spike was energetic, yes, but that was it.  
She politely asked for permission to summon her bear. Since he returned peacefully, no magic had been lost and she still had the means to call him out. After much consultation, they gave her the green light. Now the two of them spent the morning away, grooming each other carefully and thoroughly. Nita spent a lot of time sending her idea and emotions over, until he seemed to get what she was thinking of doing. They were done before lunch- where Nita thought she outdid herself with her good table manners- and took to playing in the afternoon. Her familiar humoured her, chasing her in meaningless circles, and nuzzling her in an effort to tickle her.  
He returned in the afternoon, sending her a last comforting wave of determination. She asked for paper to draw, concentrating on her artwork. She drew something like a forest- a mess of green near the top, and straight brown lines leading to the ground. There was more green near the bottom, too, and a patch of blue, as well as a small yellow thing that was supposed to be a bird. She showed it to Tara proudly, drawing humour from the way Tara tried her best to compliment it despite not knowing what it was. Nita explained everything to her, and the skirmisher sat through it politely. Nita gave the drawing to her and went off to make another one.  
This time she made blobs, and explained to Tara earnestly that it was a drawing of her. Tara seemed less than flattered by the bad drawing of herself, but accepted it graciously, telling Nita that it was good. Nita grinned excitedly at the praise, running off again, and she heard a long suffering sigh from Tara. She probably thought Nita was off to make her another drawing. She made more than one. Nita gave Tara drawings of people, animals, and of the landscapes around them...all of it made of meaningless coloured shapes and blobs. Each one was painfully unrecognisable, and Nita eventually relieved Tara of the burden to pester Spike instead. The cactus only liked the gold and yellow themed one, which was meant to be a desert, so Nita went back to give Tara the rest.  
She idly coloured yet another paper, well on it's way to being a piece of abstract art. Yes, she was drawing. Yes, she was behaving. Besides that, she was planning, as she had been since the morning. Tara's house was close to her own house, which was close to the forest. Nita understood this was her best chance of escape, and she only had one shot. If it failed, it would never succeed again. If it failed, she would be well and truly grounded in the village- forever. Obviously, Colt thought of how Nita would think that way, which is why both Spike and Tara were here. Both from the police group. Both vigilant. Dangerous. Watchful.  
Nita was by no means stupid. She was genuinely in good mood, and behaving well would be normal. Entertaining herself, drawing badly, being proud of it- all were behaviours normal for someone her age. Since happiness brought out the best in her, it was completely normal. She would behave, and bide her time. She would get her reward, if not today, then next week. At least, she assumed it was next week. Everyone had had a turn watching her, so it should be back to Barley, Bo, and El Primo tomorrow, so on and so forth. She scrubbed herself extra clean when she was asked to bathe. It might well be the last time. She let herself relax, coming out all high and bubbly and happy. She giggled at nonsensical things, and slumped on the table as if asleep. Now it was a waiting game. And she knew how to speed it up.  
"Oredddddddd," she whined. "Wan oiss..." Said toys were just a couple of wooden blocks. Nita was slowly carving them with her claws, and planned on adding some colours with the flowers and berries from the forest. She moaned, making herself seem more miserable than she actually felt. She bugged Spike endlessly- if she had to choose she wanted him gone, because his Super was extremely annoying. She poked him, interrupting him from doing anything, lying over him and worrying the spikes on his body. He pushed her off after a mere ten minutes, going to confer with Tara. They took way more than the five minutes Nita had anticipated. Truly bored now, she went to examine one of Tara's vases. She poked at it, running her fingers over the designs, wondering how hot sand became something so smooth. She went to look at another vase.  
Naturally, her bad luck came up. As she moved away from it, her foot caught one of the legs of the chair the vase was sitting on. She screeched as she fell, hitting the floor hard. She didn't even have time to catch her breath before the chair fell on top of her, knocking what little breath she had left out of her. The vase shattered right in front of her face, and Nita grimaced as she was nicked in a couple of places. It must have been quite a ruckus, because it brought both Tara and Spike running out, then gave them some pause before they moved. Spike ran off, probably to call in Poco and possibly Colt. Tara carefully picked her way in, moving the chair off and helping Nita up. She was sat in another chair while Tara cleared up all the glass and righted the stool, working silently but effectively. Then the skirmisher came over with a cloth and a bowl of water. Nita was surprised to find the water was warm- she had not seen any water boiling. Tara worked fast, cleaning the blood and the wounds littering Nita's arms and face.  
"What's the emergency??" Someone shouted, slamming the door open. Poco ran over, already beginning to work despite not being told what was wrong.  
"No, no! You're doing it wrong!" He cried, snatching the cloth from Tara. He began muttering something as he pulled out a penlight and inspected each wound carefully. Nita winced when he had to pick out glass shards.  
"See, if you just clean them, these will get stuck inside, and infection might set it, or there'll be a permanent pain. You got to pick them out first, then you clean the wounds, and you have to rinse the cloth, look. Then you have to check which ones are serious enough to need bandaging, see, the ones that are still bleeding. All these is fine, but this one needs to be wrapped up, so that the bleeding can stop, because it's a deep wound, look." Poco talked non-stop. Nita thought that he was trying to teach Tara, but he talked and moved so fast no one would be able to understand except another healer. Nevertheless, Spike peered at the work curiously, with an absence of Colt, and Nita was relieved the sheriff was left out of this.  
The sharpshooter tapped Tara, and they moved several steps back to discuss something. Poco was finally done, smiling at her happily.  
"All better?" He asked, and Nita allowed a smile to slip out, shaking her head teasingly. Poco gasped exaggeratedly, clutching his chest in fake pain.  
"No...? Impossible! Take this!" He exclaimed, hugging her and pronouncing, "...hug of healing!! The hug compels you to be better and well! You will be running around by tonight! Be compelled!!" Nita finally laughed, hugging back tightly and squeezing slightly to show her gratitude. Poco was smiling when he let go, and Nita gently pushed him towards the door, knowing he would feel bad for leaving her. She waved happily from the window, all the way until he was out of sight, then just spent a little while more staring, hoping that maybe he would come back. It didn't happen. Nothing she wanted ever happened.  
Spike had her wooden blocks, and must have made a detour. She accepted them, going near the window to carve with the better light. She was completely absorbed in the wooden Big Baby Bear emerging from the rough block of wood, chipping at it bit by bit. She got up for a drink of water, noticing that they had given up watching her, but were still close enough to catch her if she ran. Her carving was pretty boring. Spike slammed his hands on the table as she approached, and she narrowed her eyes at the cards peeking out under them. He smiled at her with his hollow eyes, and she rolled her own.  
"Tie-the? Rreary?" She snorted. It was a card game which everyone played and betted on. She was well aware that they were gambling, despite their best attempts to hide it from her. Even Jessie knew, and she was the most easily fooled. Their attempts at hiding it from anyone underage always failed miserably and was painfully hilarious. Spike laughed awkwardly, shrugging as best as he could with his hands still on the table. She humoured him, turning away and pretending not to see while Tara got her a cup of water. Once done, she walked away, not looking at the table. She went straight back to her carving, gleeful that Spike and Tara were gambling. It was a game that required concentration, and it would be easy to slip out. She checked the window, checking the time by the position of the sun. The position suggested it was about late afternoon, and the area outside the window was clear. She adjusted herself to be out of the sunlight while still having ample light to carve by. She could hear the cards being shuffled. They were starting a new game. Good. Patience was key, and she waited for them to start, plus a little more time to really get into the game, before she moved. She was out of the window and running all too easily. Wooden Big Baby Bear was tucked in her robe safely, and she moved with minimal noise. She ran parallel to the path back home, quickly popping in to grab some important things. Then she ran, checking behind her a couple of times before she reached the forest. She moved fast, reaching her old camp site. If she was to hide this time, she would have to up her game. She surveyed the area as she trekked along. She tried to keep close to a water source, while searching for somewhere well hidden. It was late afternoon. In about an hour and a half, maybe two, dinner should begin. That was the maximum amount of time she had before they knew. In that time, she had to find somewhere permanent to hide and stay. She finally decided on a oak tree. It was pretty tall, and had wide, sturdy looking branches. It was a little hard to climb, considering she had little experience, but she had a good grip and scaled it. She picked a spot that was more or less hidden from the ground- she could always add more twigs to cover up the gaps later- and deposited the contents of her looting there. She was down again within moments to hunt, piling all the leftovers and bones into the river, watching it sweep away. Then she got to work. She collected sticks from all over the forest, slowly filling her bucket full of them. She painstakingly placed them in between the current branch and the neighbouring branch, now grateful for Piper's weaving class. It had failed, but the skill came in handy now as Nita weaved twig and twig together to form a floor. It looked pretty unsteady, and it refused to hold firm when she put her weight on it, especially at the centre. It was by no means big, besides being dangerous, and she would have to plan carefully on how to use the space. Still, it would work nicely. Her next step would have to be evening out the surface. Her time limit was already exceeded, and she checked the area carefully before she went down. She made quick, careful trips to bring moss back, spreading the moss all over the place as some sort of carpet. She made another trip to fill up her bucket with water. By tying a rope to it, she could haul it up, hand over hand. It was hard lugging the thing up, and she was way too exposed as she did, but the water would last for a day or two. If it rained, it would last even longer. She knew she would need food regularly, but did not set out, since she could not safely traverse this part of the forest at night yet, not familiar enough with it to avoid obstacles. Instead, she spread out her blanket on the moss, curling up on it and pulling a spare blanket over as cover. It was cold this high up in the air, unlike the ground. At least the tree provided some shielding. Tomorrow she would continue her work, but she would have to be vigilant. The hunting was likely to start tomorrow, since they would not want to travel by night either. They would probably be in small groups to avoid so much noise, and they would be working hard. They both knew that she would not slip up again. This time, if they wanted to find her, they would have to do so by their own strength.  
Round two.  
Nita woke by her internal alarm clock. Dawn. Barely bright enough to see, but it was what she needed. The forest was silent for now, and stealth was on her side. She slipped down after checking the floor twice, making a quick meal and taking more back  
She found it no easier climbing up this time. She carefully arranged the food, creating a food pile in the limited space, knowing she would have to make at least one more trip. It was morning now. Nevertheless, she slid down, moving quietly to dig up roots and pick berries, never taking too much to be noticed. She caught a rabbit as well, literally tripping over it and pinning it under her body. She ate the rabbit despite already eating, deciding it was best not to leave it for later. She threw the remains in the river, hoping it would end up somewhere far away. She checked every place twice before making any move. Anyone could be hiding anywhere. They knew their noise alerted her, so they might be planning an ambush. She scaled the tree, pulling on a couple of branches in hope that it would give her shelter in the event it rained.  
Noise. She froze, dropping to the floor. As she suspected, the teams were smaller. This one was Colt himself, Poco, and Bull. As they entered the clearing below, they surveyed it with narrow eyes, finding it Nita free. Poco plopped on the floor with a sigh.  
"Maybe we're still makin too much noise," Bull grumbled. Colt shrugged. "Maybe?" He asked more than said, looking around. Bull groaned at the non-committal answer, slapping his hand over his face. Nita internally willed them to start talking about useful things so that she could glean information. She nearly cheered as her wish finally came true. It was one of those rare moments she got her way, and she thanked whoever made it happen internally.  
"What's the game plan again?" Bull asked. Colt sighed, obviously having explained it more than thrice. "Stop asking if you're going to forget every time. We are going to sweep the forest. Check for holes or signs of a nest. Then we'll ambush Nita when she returns. Get it into your thick head." Bull growled, not liking that Colt was suggesting he was stupid. Colt glared right back, obviously annoyed with Bull.  
"Listen here, pretty boy," Bull started to say, but Colt cut him off  
"Don't call me that. I stopped it a while ago." Bull rose to his feet, glaring at the sheriff. Colt glared right back, double guns trained on the heavyweight. Nita rather not the whole village be attracted here, lest Crow decided to climb the tree for a bird's eye view and found her, so she moved fast. She slid down the tree, climbing down the side hidden to the three of them. Poco was trying to diffuse the situation, and was failing so badly he was getting riled up by them too. Nita made her move, deliberately brushing a bush. It rustled, and everyone froze.  
"Who's there?" Colt demanded, and Nita was silent, checking on his position carefully. She was taking a big risk here to avoid a bigger risk.  
"Maybe it was just a rabbit, huh?" Poco suggested. There was something about Colt's expression that screamed suspicion, even though he nodded slowly. He inspected the bush, and for a moment, they met eye to eye. She widened her eyes in mock shock and horror, while he blinked a couple of times before he realised what he was seeing.  
"Nita Littlefoot! Stop right there!" He shouted, guns on her in a split second. She had turned tail and ran in half that time, not even staying around to catch Bull's or Poco's reaction. She had no idea what she would come across, running randomly in hope of some hiding spot or tree. There were regular bursts of song from behind her, and Nita knew it wasn't for show. Other teams would be closing in to corner her. She was up a random tree quickly, hoping she was far ahead enough that they would not see it. They did not. They ran right past the tree, and Bull let out a nasty swear as he was slapped in the face with a branch. Nita grinned, climbing back down and doubling back to the clearing. Beautifully executed. She collected food on her way back, hoping that she wouldn't deplete the area near where she stayed. She hopped up the tree, each climb becoming easier and easier as she learnt good handholds. Tomorrow would be another day, another story, another race. This time, she wouldn't slip up. This time, she would win. She would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so late, guys! I was busy today, but I would never break my word. Saturday is Saturday. So here we are!  
> And what do you mean the chapter name is a map name and there's no link?? Also, behold, plot progress! If you count running away as plot progress anyway. I mean, technically, every chapter covers something and is therefore plot progress no matter what it's about-  
> Anyway. I understand Nita is being a clever and overpowered character right now in carrying out her escape. I would just like to say that she isn't really. The floor that she has painstakingly weaved is actually extremely fragile because, you know, she isn't Piper and is just going off what little she knows. It's slowly giving way under her weight, but it's not like it would collapse under her weight and land her smack in the centre of a searching party why would that happen right.  
> 


	17. Chapter 12 - When You Wish Upon A Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 26 kudos?? A bookmark?? 474 views??? You guys are just too kind...*sniff sniff*

Two weeks. That was how long she had been in the forest. She was uneasy. People had come and went, unable to find her little hideout, but she was not concerned with that. There had been a disturbance in the magic of the land, rising and falling unpredictably for the last few days. Yet today all was still- too still. It set her on edge. Last night she had wished fervently for the magic fluctuations to stop, and it had. That in itself spelled bad news. Nita never got what she wanted, and when she did, something bad was going to happen.  
Nevertheless, she knew she needed food. She would have to travel out for food, and that made her all the more uneasy. The weather had been absolutely dreadful, sending all the animals into hiding. She had been staying close, gathering food nearby, but she feared she had taken a bit too much. She would have to travel out, but that was horrible, since the rain effectively covered a lot of noise. If she was going to get caught, today might be the day.  
She steeled herself, checking the area thrice before she scaled down the tree. She slipped into the undergrowth, ready to stay hidden until she had to come out. She moved from place to place silently- not that you could hear anything over the rain. She constantly checked over her shoulder, and scanned any area twice before she made her move.  
She was getting as paranoid as Colt. The sudden thought made her smile, but she stayed cautious. Better safe than sorry. She made a round trip of two hours, filling her stomach and hands with what she could get her hands on. The time taken to gather food took another hour, and by the time she arrived home, she was soaked to the bone. She still climbed easily, slightly hampered by her loot, but other than that she was utterly miserable. She couldn't wrap herself in her blankets, or she would get those wet too. She had no towel, and could not start a fire, so she was stuck shivering her way to dryness and warmth.  
She sort of wished there was someone like Jessie right beside her to keep her company, and would hug her despite how cold and wet she was. Then she caught herself, and ruefully wondered how long she would keep wishing herself into trouble. A companion would rat her out, or accidentally give her away, and then she would be stuck in the village.  
Again.  
Forever this time.  
She miserably ate her lunch, and realised that if she was to eat dinner she would have to go out again. And she would have to eat dinner, to keep herself warm. She sighed as she got up. Might as well do it while she was still wet. She decided to just take as much as she could, both for dinner and breakfast, to avoid a morning soak. Nothing makes you sick like a cold shower in the cold morning. She scaled down the tree, heading in a different direction, still careful. She gathered until she could carry no more, more than enough for two meals, before she moved back. It had to be evening by now. She would have to try and dry off by night. She made her cold, miserable way back, and if she was not so finely tuned to looking for danger, she would have missed it.  
Blood. Not the kind from animals, but the liquid magic kind from them. She froze at the sight, the food clattering to the ground. Whose was it? Perhaps, while looking for her, someone got attacked, and was now bleeding out. Physical injuries could be fatal, she knew, and she abandoned security for speed instantly. She crashed through the forest, searching desperately for the one who was hurt.  
Because of her. The guilt weighed her down, but she pushed past it. Whoever this was needed help, now. If they died, and never returned...all because of her...Nita cut off her thoughts. Wrong time, wrong place. She roared, hoping that whoever it was could hear her over this stupid rain and respond.  
"....help..." Nita gasped, straining her ears. She didn't hesitate in calling out Big Baby Bear. He had the superior senses, and right now she needed those superior senses to help her locate the injured person. She roared again, desperation edging her tone.  
"...don't...come...closer..." A whisper on the wind. Her familiar moved, and Nita followed, wholeheartedly trusting him. He finally stopped, and Nita glanced around wildly.  
"Look out! Bear!" Someone shouted. Nita whirled around, growling as she searched for the source of the shout. She directed her familiar to go chase away the bear. A human imposing as a bear would only anger the bear.  
"No! Behind...red..." Someone gasped out. Nita could not identify the voice. It was a male voice, she could tell that much. But it sounded high, something like Crow, yet had a certain quality to it that was not Crow's. She checked behind her to make sure Big Baby Bear was coping, finding him right behind her. He made a sort of shrug, sending her puzzlement and confusion. She patted his side, asking him to look out for danger and insisting he did a good job.  
"You're...friends...with the bear...?" The voice asked fearfully. Nita cocked her head. The voice came from around here, but the area had no caves large enough to house anyone she knew. Except Jessie or Penny or even herself, but all the guys were grown up and big.  
"Ami-iar," she finally said, frowning. Whoever this was did not know her, apparently. Everyone knew her familiar was a bear. Could this be the cause for the disturbance in magic?  
"Mi. Nart arrm. Eash-oul." She tried to pacify whoever this was. Unfortunately for her, all the words she wanted to use involved 'l' or 'p', and she couldn't pronounce those. There was a long pause as the person obviously tried to sound out her words to understand them. Then, "promise?" The person asked in a small, small voice barely audible over the sound of the rain.  
"Omishe," Nita replied. There was another long pause. Then something crawled out of a small cave she would fit snugly into. It was someone new, that much she could tell. He was wearing a hoodie dominated by green, with a yellow stripe along the top. Two blue buttons stared sideways blankly, and a tongue hung from it, giving it a mischievous air. There was a coiled tail at the base, and under that were blue shorts. Nita opened gaped at him, and not because she had never seen him before.  
He was badly hurt. So, so badly hurt. It looked like he had a run in with something that tried to eat him. Wolves, perhaps. They were deadly creatures, and ruthless hunters. Now that she had placed a name, the wounds looked all too familiar. There were gashes everywhere, and a couple of rings where a wolf obviously took a dig at biting him. The blood was barely flowing anymore, and Nita knew it was because he had already lost too much. He was dying, just like she did that time. But she was alive, wasn't she? She could make him live too.  
"It's bad, isn't it?" He asked quietly. The hoodie hung low over his face, obscuring his eyes. It was sort of eerie, not knowing what expression he had. She simply directed her bear to pick him up. There was a moment where he struggled, obviously scared, before he ran out of energy, and seemed to realise it was no threat anyway. Nita moved quickly, uncaring if someone saw. In fact, someone seeing was favourable, because she could let them bring the boy back with them.  
The boy. The thought sent an unpleasant jolt through her. He was just a kid, not unlike Jessie. If he died on her, it would be her fault all over again. She moved faster. She knew she had to get him dry, and warm. He would need to get into shelter for that to happen. At the same time, he was obviously too weak to climb. She hesitated, before scaling the oak. She could just move the first aid kit down to wrap him up first, and think about getting him up later. Then she paused. Was it really wise to wrap up his injuries, dirt and all? She should clean it, but she couldn't do that down there, it would just get dirty again. She was panicking.  
"I can climb, you know." She jumped at the voice, staring at the boy in disbelief. He had somehow made his way up, and she felt Big Baby Bear returning to her, his job done. She recovered fast, sitting him down and starting to clean out the wounds. It was soothing, doing the same thing over and over. Clean, wrap, repeat. He also needed to be cleaned in general, but that could come later.  
"Leon." He suddenly said. Nita was trying to process what that meant when he elaborated. "My name. Leon." She nodded simply, and after a long moment, she replied, "Nita." Now she had a name to tag him with, she could proceed to asking him what happened. Leon didn't reply, and Nita thought he had dropped the topic, when he spoke again.  
"I woke up, and ran into wolves. Barely got away by climbing up a tree. I climbed back down to find help, but I couldn't move, so I dragged myself into a cave. You found me. And here I am." He said. Pretty much what she suspected. The wolves were probably hungry, desperate for food after so many days of rain chasing away their usual prey. She was surprised that he could climb after all that, though. It seemed almost as natural as walking to him. The hoodie did seem like an animal, and Nita could barely dare to hope. Could this be another half and half? One that lived in the forest and climbed trees?  
One that was dying. She deflated. Of course. She would meet someone who seemed like he could relate to her, only for him to die on her. Her luck worked that way, didn't it? Something lucky would happen to her, only for luck ten times worse to follow. Life wasn't a fairy tale. Life wasn't fair. Life had a short side, and a long side.  
And the odds were never in her favour.  
She lived on the short side of life, the place of shortcomings and pain. Nothing good came out of it. So why did she still foolishly hope and dream, falling into the same trap every time? She did not know. She concentrated on the task at hand instead. She used her hands to scrub Leon clean, lacking a cloth to do it with. She took water from the bucket, which was collecting a bountiful amount of rain water, to get the brawler in front of her cleaned up. Then she climbed back down, picking up whatever she had dropped, cleaning them off in the rain. What could be salvaged anyway. She made a couple of climbs to transfer everything up, and when she was finally done, she joined Leon in sitting and shivering, trying to dry off. Leon seemed to be getting the worse of it between them, teeth chattering, shivering so violently Nita could see it. She scooted closer after a short hesitation, until their shoulders were touching, wrapping her arms around him. He stiffened at the contact, but eventually returned the hug, sharing what little body heat they had left.  
Nita made herself and Leon eat a little later. She had no appetite, but she knew that food would bring energy, and energy would bring warmth. Leon needed energy as well, if he was to recover. Even with two of them, they only finished half the food. Nita was sort of glad that breakfast would require no extra trip.  
She fell into an uneasy sleep sometime after, exhausted by the events of the day. This time Leon initiated the hug, shivering miserably. Nevertheless, she was comforted by the warmth he started to produce eventually, taking it as a good sign that he had warmed up. It kept her warm all through the night, and when she woke up in the morning, she didn't want to move. It was blissfully warm, but she poked Leon in the face to get him up after a moment of bliss, knowing she had work to do.  
_Hot_.  
Nita snatched her hand away. He was burning hot. She stared at him with wide eyes. It was still raining, and the gloom provided no extra light, but Nita squinted closer. She could see that his face was flushed, and when she put her hand close, she could feel the heat from the hot breaths he was puffing out. But he was still shivering, holding her close as if she was his only source of heat. He let a wet cough, and that made Nita's worry shoot sky high. She shook him desperately, but he would not wake. Every moment she spent trying to make him wake up, only to be met with failure, made her more and more scared.  
_He's dying._  
_Dying_  
_Dying_.  
The word rang around and around in her head. He was dying, this kid, who had barely stepped into their world. Who was Jessie's age. Jessie. Pam. Healer. Nita jolted from her train of thoughts. That was right, if she could get him to a healer, it would be fine. Except everyone was out looking for her, healers included. She had seen Colt, Bull, and Poco, hadn't she? Maybe they stayed in because of the rain. Or maybe they were out full force, trying to surprise her. Nita spiralled deeper and deeper into panic. This time it was Leon coughing that broke her out.  
Leon. She had to get him to a healer. She knew he was sick, running a high fever. Maybe his wounds were infected. Maybe she didn't do a good enough job. But that wasn't important. Right now, she had the big problem of transporting him. She decided the village was her best chance. Worst case, everyone got home at night to sleep, they could still help him. Unless they were camping out in the woods to safe time. Nita gritted her teeth together. Now was not the time to get distracted. She dug around in the pile of things she had brought. She knew she had some rope. She could secure him to herself to climb down safely, and then let Big Baby Bear take over to the village. Actually, she could let Big Baby Bear carry Leon in, and if he died, he still returned to her. Problem solved. She was pretty pleased with herself, and in her rush she roughly lashed Leon to herself and started climbing down without checking the area. That was when she found her problem to her lack of planning.  
Leon was around the same height as her, and roughly tying him on only served to tangle their limbs and make movement impossible. Growling, she clambered back onto the tree, untying Leon's limp form. She made sure his shoulders were above hers when she tied him back on, like a piggyback ride would work in normal circumstances, except that her passenger was the same size, unconscious, and needed to be tied in place instead of holding on by himself. This time her descent was much easier, not as hampered by the brawler on her back. She had already lost time, valuable time, adjusting the position. Time that could very well be life and death for Leon. She moved as fast as she could, neglecting to check the floor, considering that anyone she knew was less of a problem and more of a help at this point in time.  
She only discovered that her lack of care was really coming to bite her in the butt when she was on the ground. Seven shapes stood in a rough circle around the oak, conering her against the tree. Their eyes glowed in the gloom, and they howled and growled to each other. She had no doubt that these were the very ones that were to be held responsible for Leon's condition. Wolves always found the weak. They probably tracked Leon by his blood, finally finding him after all the hard work of shifting around in the rain for the right trail.  
She roared. They growled in reply, and Big Baby Bear was on them. There was some confusion and panic on how a bear appeared in their midst out of nowhere, and Nita took that time to bolt. She begged Big Baby Bear to buy as much time as he could, and she could feel his determination as he fought. But he was severely outnumbered, just one among seven, and Nita had only covered a quarter of the ground before she felt his return. She kept running, knowing the chase was on. The wolves would be after her, and she could not afford to stop and fight with Leon weighing her down. She could only run.  
She knew she could run well, but already Leon's weight was beginning to take a toll on her. Halfway there. Only. He was light, around her weight, perhaps. But even this weight meant she was carrying twice her weight, which made every step twice as difficult. She estimated she could only cover about half her usual distance at full speed, which would barely get her out of the forest. She still had to clear the distance from the forest to her house, then to find someone. Besides, the rain made everything slick and slippery. Every step was a danger. There was a nagging voice in her head telling her she was going to fail, and because of that Leon was going to die. It would be like That Day all over again, except with Leon in Jessie's place and wolves in hers.  
The thought of it made Nita run faster. Even so, there was only so much adrenaline could do, so much fear could do, and so much she could do. She pushed herself to her limits, running on even after the forest, clearing half the distance to her house. She kept moving sluggishly even after she had to stop running, but the wolves were fit despite being thin and starved. They loped around her, cutting her off. So close, yet so far. The worst part was that no one would hear her if she roared because of the stupid rain. She thought about dropping Leon, but she had tied the knots tight and complicated to prevent him from slipping off. She would have no time to slip him off before the wolves were on them. She would have to fight exhausted, while carrying a dead weight.  
There was no longer seven wolves, though. There were only four, and out of them two were injured. She knew instinctively Big Baby Bear had killed the other three. But with him gone, the wolves apparently felt brave enough to come after her. She did not even roar to show strength, lashing out fast at the wolf who came too close. The unfortunate wolf yipped in pain, and limped away. It was all but out of the game. The rest closed in all at once. Nita didn't even bat an eye when she snapped the neck of one of the injured ones. Something clamped around her left leg from her back, and she clouted the wolf until it let go, giving another one a chance to take a go at Leon. She fought them off, panting heavily. She had to be more careful.  
Three left. They were calling among themselves, obviously unsure if they should persist with such a dangerous prey. Nita roared now, and the wolves turned tail and fled, deciding they could not take her on. Nita nearly crumpled with relief, but made herself stand until the wolves were out of sight. A show of weakness would cost her dearly. She moved as fast as she could, but she was tired, and the encounter with the wolves didn't help. She could barely move, but forced herself to. Leon needed help as fast as possible. She walked to Poco's house, hoping and hoping the healer was there. He was not. Of course he wasn't. She stood staring at the empty house for a moment before she gathered the strength to move.  
She started towards Pam's house. She hated to face that healer, but Leon needed help. He was even hotter, despite the rain, and Nita knew it was a bad sign. She limped, the pain from the wound in her leg giving her trouble, splashing through the puddles all too slowly. She arrived panting only to find it was empty as well, besides every other house she had passed by. Nita ground her teeth together, panic rising. Where else could she go? She was exhausted, weak, cold. She had slowed to a trudge sometime along the way, and could no longer push herself to run anymore. She trudged out, heading for her last hope. She slipped and stumbled through the roads, her injured leg barely responding. It buckled on her somewhere along the way, and Nita screamed in frustration. Tears burned hot in her eyes, and she shut them tight, gritting her teeth and willing the tears away. There had to be a point where things went her way, a point where things didn't go against her. There had to be. Leon was depending on it. She pulled herself towards the wall of the cavern, pulling herself up with the help of it. She limped along using that as a support, heading towards her last hope. Someone had to be posted there, as a centrepoint. Someone had to be, someone, anyone. They just had to be there, please let them be there. She fell to her knees in front of the sheriff's house, the meager energy she had used to pull herself here gone. It would be her last stop, and if it failed Leon was dead. She might well be dead as well, depending on how long it took for someone to return.  
The door creaked open, Nita having no strength to slam it open, as per the unspoken culture. The house was dark from outside, and even though Nita hoped it was just a blackout, she knew what she would see. It was the sheriff's office, alright. It was dark, and unlike what she hoped, it was empty. Nita didn't have the energy to care about much beyond the throbbing in her left leg, and the general numbness of her muscles starting a protest. She didn't even have the energy to cry anymore. She just stared at the room with a gaze as blank and empty as the room itself. She finally collapsed onto her side, every last bit of hope that had sustained her crushed to dust. She failed, she failed like she always did. She thought she heard a sound, but she had no more energy to check it out. Her eyes fluttered close. This was where it all ended. Maybe she would die, and discover an afterlife where things took a flip. The sound came again, echoing through her mind, and she dully understood what it was.  
Creaking. The wooden boards that made up parts of the floor was creaking. Like every fairy tale, a burst of hope filled her from head to toe, but that was where it ended. The hope provided no warmth, no burst of strength, no energy. She knew help was right beyond one of the doors, but she was spent, unable to make even one more move. Her voice emerged as a croak when she tried to call for help. And it was help she needed, not just her, but Leon as well. Untying him to move forward alone was not an option: her fingers were stiff from the cold, and she needed him to get help immediately without being fussed over first. Either the door would magically creak open and whoever inside would see them, or she was going to have to move.  
And was life a fairy tale? No. No, it was not. Life was the complete opposite of any story or tale. It made you work for what you wanted.  
Nita groaned as she forced herself up, limbs only buckling the first 20 times after a few pathetic centimetres. Each time she met the floor again made her situation seem bleaker and bleaker, and each time she took longer and longer to try again. But the twenty first time's the charm, since it was a multiple of three. She made an inch before she found the floor again.  
"Didja hear that? Somethin slammin around." Jessie said, although her voice sounded slightly off for some reason. The hope made her no stronger, but Nita slammed her way into the floor, reaching a record of 22. What a nice number.  
"Ya didn't tell us yer kept elephants in yer house," a different voice observed. Nita screamed for Penny to keep moving her big mouth, and suggest checking it out. No such thing happened.  
"We should check it out. Can't be too careful." Colt suddenly said, and Nita cheered him on. Light flooded the room as a door forcefully met the wall. Nita would have done a victory dance, but she could barely even move. There was silence after that. Maybe she was too muddy to be recognized.  
"Wha- Nita!!" Someone cried, and the sound of pattering feet neared. Jessie's round, frightened face filled her vision, and Nita managed to rasp out, "arlp...re-on..." Her job finally done, her body abruptly gave out on her, and she was plunged into unconsciousness.  
Her last, fuzzy thought was that losing consciousness happened way too often and was quite an anticlimactic end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supercell you can't do this to us what do you mean 3 new Star Powers at a time all summer long-  
> Anyway! This was an interesting chapter to write. At long last, the mysterious new brawler has shown his face (but not his eyes). And isn't this just hilarious? I put in a summary about a certain new brawler (who thought it wasn't Leon, right), only introduce him halfway through the story, and then proceed to start killing him off. Ahhh...the power of being an author is amazing...and, as always, I'm pulling up chapter ideas that make sense and are connected to the chapter, haha. Can you tell what the link is?  
> Also, look forward to next week! That's right! I've got an extra chapter up for you guys next week. Do take note that there are mentions of blood and descriptions of injuries, so take caution reading it. It's really just this chapter from another point of view, so you aren't missing out too much not reading it.


	18. Chapter 12.3 - Move or Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOOD/INJURIES.  
> This takes place near the end of the previous chapter and continues on, so I thought 12.3 might be better than 12.5, haha.

Rain. It fell in sleeting sheets, leaving Bull soaked and miserable. He hated how it made his hair heavy, hated how it found it's way to soak every piece of clothing, hated how it left him feeling numb and cold. He hated how it beat down, hated the puddles it left that splashed and wet his feet, hated the never ending howl of the wind and rain. He hated every aspect of rain, and that rain in general. He had no idea how Nita tolerated it, much less liked it.  
Nita. She was gone again. Ran off to the forest, and she was probably suffering right now. Maybe she was stuck in whatever meager shelter she had found, starving to death. Maybe she was running a fever from the rain, slowly dying in some corner. Maybe she didn't even have shelter, and was soaking in the horrible rain all through the day, and all through the night too. He hated that he didn't know, and that he couldn't help. Colt had forbidden anyone from travelling out without partners, just in case anything happened. Then he forbade anyone leave during the rain just in case they fell sick. Bull hated the rain all the more for the inconvenience it put him through.  
He stomped into Colt's office. Fourteen days. Fourteen days, and Nita was still in the lead. They had scoured every square mile of the stupid forest, yet she remained out of sight. They had created routes that met each other so that if Nita sneaked away from a team she would still run into another team. Yet everyone had met up again and again, sweaty and bearing marks from the forest, with Nita nowhere in sight. She had appeared once, when his team stopped in a small clearing. They had given chase, but ended up meeting with the other teams, Nita nowhere in sight. All he earned for his troubles was a slap from a branch.  
Colt was busy laying out plans in consideration of the rain not letting up. Everyone crowded around, contributing ideas and random snippets. Bull was not paying attention, to be honest. He kept thinking about Nita. How had she managed to disappear so thoroughly? They could find no bones or other remains. They could find no tracks or trails. Nothing. If not for the short glimpse of Nita he had seen, Bull would have thought Nita was not living in the forest. He was more than a little annoyed that Nita had chosen to run from him again. Well, annoyed and hurt. He thought that they had a pretty steady relationship going, but obviously it was not enough, if Nita felt that she should run.  
"Bull? Do you have anything to add?" Colt asked. Every gaze turned to him, and there was sudden silence. He honestly had no idea what they were talking about, and naturally, had nothing to contribute. He gave a non committed shrug.  
"Was there anythin ta discuss in de first place?" He asked as a way of answering. He clenched his fists, glaring at the sheriff. "She could be dying! And yer still ere, waitin fer what? Her ta come strollin in?" Bull spat, venom in his voice. He glared at Colt, not because he was at fault, but because he was the only one who could be at fault. Colt sighed, and his face said that he had just explained everything, and that the only reason Bull knew nothing was because he wasn't listening.  
"Stop that!" An unlikely hero stepped forward. Voice high and young, Jessie Junker stood glaring at him. "We're all upset Nita is gone!" She cried, tears in her eyes. Maybe it might have made some other person cool down, but it only made Bull angrier. She was upset? She was upset! Jessie was one of the causes that escalated Nita's problem in the first place! Playing the hero to Nita, playing the friend. Making Nita summon her bear, that only made the instincts stronger and stronger until she snapped. Creating the stupid taser that hurt Nita so many times. Well, Nita and some other people.  
"Stay outta dis, you stupid kid!" He roared. Jessie gasped at the insult, then her face darkened. "Are you challenging my intelligence?!?" She demanded to know. It was an obvious demand that he back off. But Bull never rolled by the majority.  
"Mebbe I am!" He growled. "Only a stupid person would believe ah weapon based offa magic wouldn't be used against Nita!" This time the insult went home. Jessie flinched, eyes wide and full of hurt at the insult. She was suddenly way more subdued. Bull was by no means done. "Unless yer wanted ta hurt her?" He ground out. Jessie's mouth gaped open, as if to say a comeback, but she merely shut it. For some reason, this seemed to hit home harder, and Jessie looked terrified by the idea that she might have wanted to hurt Nita. Her mouth opened again, and her lip was trembling this time. Bull rolled his eyes as she started to cry. What a wimp, not even being able to handle the truth. Nita would have taken it in stride, accepted it to work on herself to become a better person.  
"Hey, that's too much!" Pam snapped. Bull resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. Here came Mama J, protecting her wimpy girl. No wonder she was so weak willed. Nita was a hundred times better any day. A few other people backed her up, raising their voices as they shouted all over the place. He slammed the table with a fist, producing a satisfactory bang that made everyone fall silent.  
"Shut up! Let her speak fer herself!" He growled. "Well? Watcha gotta say?" He glowered at Jessie. She glared at him determinedly, despite the tears in her eyes. One thing he had to admit was admirable was her pure tenacity. No matter what it was, that Junker girl kept going at it until she was dead.  
"We need a plan! If we charge in blindly, we will only make ourselves sick, and burden Mama and Poco. So you shouldn't be mad at Colt for planning!" She cried high and shrill. Bull laughed openly at her statement. "Mebbe you'll fall sick, but ah won't." He scoffed. "If that's all, then I'm out." He added, turning towards the door. Once he was out of the conference room, and out of Colt's house, he could go and search for Nita. Of course, the part of the meeting he had sat through, plus the argument with the Junker girl had taken up a large amount of time. He would barely be able to search an hour before he had to return.  
"Bull, wait. Charging in blindly won't help. If you had listened, you would know that we already know where Nita is. We just have to ambush her." Colt started to launch into the plan. Bull glared at him, shifting onto one of the areas patched up with wood as he turned. _Creaaaak_. He paused, turning his glare at Colt's stupid floor. It was well used, and he hated how it always creaked when you walked over it. This was an especially loud creak. He took another step, and the resulting sound had him backing away in surprise. Yes, he was thick-set and heavy. But he didn't think he was heavy enough to make the floor boards produce a crashing sound. Everyone else was silent as well, staring at him in confusion. He took a few steps, producing only the usual creaking sounds.  
_Crash_.  
Bull turned back to the knot of people. Colt shrugged as they locked gazes. "You put things on the edges to let them fall down or something, Colt?" Brock whispered-asked, supported by another crashing sound. The sound rang out regularly, as if someone was picking up something and dropping it over and over again. Although, the interval was getting longer and longer, as if the person was getting tired of picking up the object.  
"What is that?" Jessie asked in a small voice. Of course she was scared. Penny pounced on the opportunity before Bull could.  
"Didja hear that? Somethin slammin around," Penny mocked, pitching her voice higher in an imitation of Jessie. Jessie looked offended, about to say something, but Penny cut her off. "Ya didn't tell us yer kept elephants in yer house," she mocked Colt, a mildly accusatory tone in her voice. Colt frowned, obviously trying to figure out what exactly the elephant in the next room was. He shushed Jessie when she tried to insult Penny back.  
"...we should check it out. Can't be too careful," Colt finally decided. Bull slammed the door open, being the closest to the door currently. There was nothing in the room that he could see that could have made the crashing noises. They all crowded around, staring at the dark, empty room. Then Jessie suddenly gasped, rather dramatically, Bull thought, and cried, "Wha- Nita!!" The mechanic ran past everyone, skidding to a halt near a motionless lump on the floor. Bull felt his heart twist, sinking 6 feet under as his eyes adjusted to the gloom.  
Nita lay on the floor in an awkward, still heap. All her clothes were muddy, dulling the signature red he had come to associate her with. Besides that, there was something else tied to her back, mostly consisting of green, that made Nita unrecognisable at first sight. Colt flicked on the light, illuminating the horrible scene. There was silver painting the floor, creating a trail from the door. Crow cut the rope binding the two figures together, allowing Poco to turn Nita over. There was a long, deep cut along one of Nita's calves. It was swollen red and angry, but Poco just glanced over it before moving on to the green heap. Pam took over Nita, barking out orders. Jessie seemed to know what her mother wanted, running all over the place.  
Pam was cleaning the wound with a bowl of water. The water was becoming cloudy with Nita's blood, but she kept going steadily. She took a threaded needle from her daughter, and Bull looked away before he had to watch Pam sewing up the wound. Instead, he found Poco and the new brawler. He sort of wished he had kept watching Pam, because this was even worse. Poco was working as fast as he could. His healing was about speed, while Pam's was more on constant, progressive healing. Here, speed was key. Bull could see that it was a young child wearing a green hoodie. Poco was moving from wound to wound, unwrapping the bandages to check on whatever was below, and doing whatever work was necessary. It had to be working, but every time Poco unravelled a new wound Bull grimaced internally. Those were not scratches, and no mild scrapes. Those were serious, deep and revealed a little more of the brawler's insides than Bull would have liked to see.  
_Nita must have patched him up_ , Bull thought. And she went through a lot of trouble for him besides that. At the very least, she had to have ran through the rain to get here. There was definitely a hiccup, though, for her to be injured. Bull wanted to be angry, but he could only feel sick as he watched the healers working. He couldn't tear his eyes away either. He just watched, stomach rolling, as Pam moved to help Poco with the new brawler. She had set down her healing turret, Mama's Kiss. It was slowly sealing up the wounds, although it was a slow affair. Physical injuries always were tricky. It had been explained to him over and over again, until he understood the difference. It was important to know.  
Normal damage, from core magic to base magic, had no outward impacts. It was what they were all used to. It was what they could recover from without help. Physical damage via magical means were also recoverable from, sealing itself up over time. Physical damage via physical means, though...it could only recover with external help. Mainly, healers. The worst part about physical problems was not just about wounds, since those were virtually non-existent. The worst part was when someone got a flu and then it spread all over the place. Then the lot of them camped in the healers' houses, and Poco and Pam overworked themselves trying to cure everyone. They had to provide healing, plus take care of whatever basic needs they could not currently fulfil by themselves.  
Although that magic thing Pam, Poco and Barley invented was a lifesaver. It was basically magic essence, overloading magic reserves to heal whoever drank it instantly. Poco put a restriction of a maximum of using it to once a day. Maybe overloading the magic stores too much would kill them. Although they would just respawn, so Bull didn't see a problem. Although that was another thing. If someone died from physical wounds, there was a chance they would not respawn. Colt had said it was a 1 in 4 chance that a respawn would not occur, and the person would remain dead. Forever.  
It kind of scared Bull, not that he would ever admit it. Dying without ever coming back sounded lonely and sad.  
And now there was a chance that someone was going to die. Not Nita, of course. She already looked as if she was going to make a full recovery. No, the kid. Despite being under the influence of Mama's Kiss, he was still ashen. The smaller wounds were not sealing up, and Bull thought this would not be enough. Poco played a short tune in an effort to make progress. The kid remained pale, and Poco seemed frantic as he called everyone to gather.  
"He's not healing as much as he should be. He's alive, but his magic isn't accepting ours like Nita. I don't get it, this shouldn't happen, not unless he lost like, 3/4 of his own magic. Then maybe his body trying to regenerate magic by itself, and rejecting foreign sources is fine. But he can't have lost so much, right, because Nita wrapped him up and it's goingtobefineisn'tit?" Poco spoke in a rush, the words coming out faster and faster until it was a blur of sound. The healer looked frightened, eyes small and trembling as he started another rant. It was the complete opposite of understandable. Colt tried to get Poco to calm down, but he was having none of it. Poco just kept talking, and Colt was completely helpless against the torrent of words that poured out of the healer. Bull finally stepped forward.  
"Stop." Poco didn't seem to hear, and he looked like he was one second away from a complete and total mental breakdown. Bull swept the healer off his feet, slinging him over one shoulder. Poco instantly protested, but Bull ignored the feeble protests. He dumped the healer into the nearest bed, rolling the healer into a blanket burrito. Poco fought to get out, screaming something about work to do, but Bull laid down on the bed too, flopping an arm across the bundle. He ignored everything Poco did, all the way until Poco stilled.  
He left the healer asleep on the bed, returning to check up on the situation.  
Pam was removing the stitches from Nita. Already, she looked like she was just asleep, and Bull knew that she would be fine. The same couldn't be said for the new brawler. It had been two hours, and still he shivered, trying to cling to Jessie as she sponged him down. Pam switched patients, laying a hand on the kid's forehead, and he hugged her arm, as if it was a lifeline. Pam frowned, and Bull could tell that she was worried. He whined, rolling over, seeking warmth from something. When he found nothing, he curled up on himself.  
Jessie asked her mother something, and Pam replied tersely. Nita groaned, and Pam moved to check on her. Nita opened her eyes, croaking something. The healer helped her up, feeding her water. Bull moved closer, eager to check on Nita now that she was awake.  
"...mama...reon..." Nita muttered. Pam tilted Nita's body to face the new brawler. "Is that him? Reon?" Nita groaned something, and Pam moved her closer to the kid. Bull watched in surprise as Nita patted Reon's arm as best as she could. He latched onto her, and she let him.  
"Ruu..?" Nita asked quietly. Bull leaned over, smiling in relief. "Yeah?" He asked, as softly as he could. There was no response, and after a quick check, Bull found that she was asleep. That, or unconscious. Reon hugged Nita, shivering slowly dying down, and Nita just looked dead to the world. Her mouth hung open, and Bull chuckled, remembering all the times she had actually caught a fly in her sleep.  
She would be fine.  
That was all Bull cared to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter summary  
> Colt: we got this guys we know where Nita is at let's just wait for the rain to stop oh it's not stopping well then let's ignore the fact that it's raining-  
> Bull: I don't care about anything oh crap Nita's hurt aaAAaaAAAaAA-  
> Pam: don't worry I got this it's not like I ever-(spoilerrrr)  
> Poco: oh well it's not like Leon lost 3/4 of his magic he was only bleeding out in the rain for forever-  
> Also Colt: oh look a crisis for once I have something to do but I can't help hahaha-  
> Nita: lemme just wake up say nonsense and then pass out the moment before I start spouting plot spoilers wahaha-  
> Leon: guys stop I'm dying bleghhh-  
> Yes. The perfect summary. I will accept nothing less. I loved this chapter, honestly. Bull is so interesting to write on. Turns out this is going to end this year, instead of January next year after all! I mean if you wanted a longer story that's sad, but if you just wanted to know the plot that's good, haha.  
> I'll be finishing writing Running Wild very soon, though. As such I would like to hear your ideas! Is there anyone or anything you feel would be a good plot point to write on, or you would like to see? I mean Running Wild started with 'what if Nita was part bear' and just expanded into this from there. Please comment your ideas(unless you feel uncomfortable with it- don't force yourself), thank you!


	19. Chapter 13 - Still

Nita woke up as usual- screaming. Sweat coated her body, and the bloody image of the wolves tearing Leon apart was all too fresh in her mind. For a frightening moment she thought he might actually be dead. Then the reality of dragging him around crashed into her, and she relaxed despite how unpleasant that memory was.  
"Hey, all good?" Poco asked gently, and Nita nodded stiffly. She felt awfully cold, though, and pulled the blanket around her tighter.  
"Yes, you should rest up. You have a nasty fever," Poco told her, which made her want to get up and move. Besides, she really wanted to check on Leon. Poco's grip on her hand wasn't just a reassuring anchor, though. It held her tightly, clearly telling her not to get up. The moment she moved he pulled her back.  
"Relax, Nita. Reon is fine." Poco said firmly. Nita stared at him in confusion for a moment, before she realised that he had taken Leon's name to be exactly how she pronounced it. "...Reon? The one in the chameleon hoodie?" Poco elaborated. Nita laughed, and now Poco was confused. Nita did not elaborate- she had no way of telling him the right name. The one in the chameleon hoodie, though? So it was an animal, and Nita wondered if Leon was a half and half. She stared at Poco, intrigued and wanting more information. He seemed to be deep in thought, contemplating something.  
"Hmmm...maybe, if you tell me what you were laughing about, I'll tell you more about chameleons," Poco offered. Nita grinned. That was easy.  
"Nart Reon. Reon," she told Poco. He still seemed confused, so she tried another approach. "Ah-mi-reon. Reon." She said. Poco suddenly gasped. "Oh, it's Leon, isn't it?" He asked, and Nita nodded, laughing. Poco laughed as well.  
"Alright. Chameleons are animals that live in the forest. They stay in trees, and have a very long tongue to catch insects with. They can also change the colour of their skin. Cool, right?" Poco asked, and Nita nodded, eyes wide. Being able to change the colour of your skin! How cool was that? The information she had earned also explained a few things. Such as how he climbed the oak so easily, and why he would hide in the trees while the wolves were after him. She doubted he had a long tongue, or that he could turn any colour he wanted, but that was still cool to know. She still wanted to see him, but Poco was also still confining her to bed, so she gave in to him. There was always tomorrow.  
When tomorrow turned around, she insisted on getting up. She was still not well, but Poco eventually gave her a two hour leeway out of bed. She made a beeline to Leon. He lay still and silent on the bed, and looked anything but fine, like the healer had said. Nevertheless, when she touched his hand, she noticed that it was cooler than it had been back in the forest. That was a relief. All his wounds were also sealed up, no doubt Poco's and Pam's magic. She spent her two hours sitting beside the chameleon, waiting for him to wake up. Nothing had changed by the time she had to leave.  
In fact, nothing changed for a good three days. She was getting longer and longer hours out of bed, but Leon stayed the same. He just laid there, pale and unmoving. She was finally forced to go home to get a proper night of sleep, instead of constantly waking up to check on Leon. The sheriff himself watched her to make sure she did not slip out, and she let him. She did her best to sleep, but what sleep she got was light and disturbed. She was back at Poco's first thing in the morning, assuming her vigil beside Leon.  
It fell into a routine. She would watch him the whole day, leaving only when someone made her go home to sleep, and she would be back the moment she was allowed to. Meals were eaten by his bedside. Sometimes she dozed off while watching him. On and on, over and over, and Nita thought he would never wake after so many days. It had to have been 15 days already. It was worrying. Nevertheless, she continued her 16th day as usual. She woke early at dawn, waiting restlessly for a reasonable time when Bo could let her out. He would normally tell her when she could leave, but time was being particularly draggy, and Nita had to ask him when she could leave.  
"Not today." He replied. "Leon is causing chaos. We must all stay safe." Nita stared at him indecorously. Leon was awake and causing chaos and he didn't let her know? He was probably just scared and confused. Surely seeing a familiar face would help, but here she was, stuck in her house. She growled. Immediately after, she jumped as a loud crash occurred outside.  
"Halt in the name of the law! Halt right there! Freeze!" Someone was shouting every phrase related to stopping. Who else could it be, but their local sheriff. Colt. That must mean the chase was coming this way. Bo was blocking the door, but Nita still found a gap to peek through. In the lead was Leon, wheezing pathetically, obviously not used to running so much or so far. She could feel the burst of joy in her chest at the sight of him up and about. Hot on his heels were the majority of the police team. They were catching up fast, closing the gap from the headstart Leon must have had. Bo pointed his own bow at the runaway, and he skidded to a halt, turning back only to realise he was trapped. He started off the path, jerking back as Colt shot right where he was going to step. He was trapped, panic all too obvious as he backed towards her house, only to jump when Bo poked him.  
"Just tell me where Nita is," he pleaded, throwing every last thing he had at them now that he could no longer run. Nita froze at the revelation. She could roar right now, and alert him. Except Bo was facing her now, and the blasted taser was pointing right at her. Colt was way more tense than previously. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath.  
"I told you, Nita is fine. You will see her after we get the rotation watch on her back on track." Blast Colt and his stupid watch. She didn't need to be put on watch. She bared her teeth at him, and mimed cutting his neck. He frowned at her, but made no obvious movements to stop her, so she kept going. She made a silly face, then another, and then a third. Colt shifted his gaze away. Spoilsport.  
"Behave." Bo muttered, while shooing her further into the house. She refused to move, standing her ground firmly. She figured that them shocking her would be noisy, and they did not want to make a scene. She opened her mouth to roar, but Bo immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. That marked the start of it, so Nita planted an elbow somewhere into him. He grunted, wrapping his other arm around her torso. Nita kicked around, trying to squirm out, only managing to kick the door frame. She grimaced at the pain.  
"Nita!" Leon shouted. She supposed the door kick had caused quite a bit of a ruckus. "What are you doing? Let her go! Nita helped me, she's not dangerous!"  
"She is!" Colt snapped. "She'll end up hurting you sooner or later, right, Nita?" Just like Jessie. Just like Bull. Just like me. Nita flinched hard at the unspoken reminder. She stopped her efforts, breathing picking up. That was right, she hurt them all. Bo released his hold, but she did not try to run anymore. She just stood there, the incidents playing over and over in her head. The red haired figure stood somewhere ahead, arms akimbo, and she could hear the words all too clearly.  
"I'm disappointed in you." Nita shivered, and backed away from the door. Why even try to reach Leon? Maybe he understood. Maybe they could be friends. Maybe, but she would surely hurt him. It always happened, didn't it? No, the best thing she could do was never see him again. In fact, it would be better to prove them right and hurt him now, while she was in control. Hurt him to make him hate her, and make him give up, all while minimising damage. She snapped her head upwards, glaring at whatever was in front of her. Colt was there, yes, but she concentrated on the mostly green figure.  
He was still staring her her hopefully- somehow she could tell despite not seeing his eyes.  
She growled, a sound that built in her chest and came tumbling out of her mouth, layer after layer. She narrowed every aggressive instinct in her arsenal at Leon, honing in on him only. She bounded towards him, covering the distance between them quickly. She lashed out at him, roaring as he stumbled back, the cry erupting from his throat. Her muscles suddenly froze up, and she was grateful that she would not have to really hurt him. It made the pain more bearable, and what happened after more acceptable. It was more or less routine by now. Hands grabbed her from the back, pulling her away. She snarled and twisted, even as she was forced onto her knees.  
"Nita. Stop that." Colt said sharply. Just to spite him, she snapped her teeth at the nearest hand. She was just as surprised as the other party that she actually caught something. Glee bloomed within her, but all that came to an end when they tried to gag her. It was kind of a given, but she didn't have to like it. It must have taken a good five minutes, but at the end of it the cloth secured her mouth closed. Her wrists were tied together, and she could feel that it was a softer material than rope. Probably to keep her wrists safe from the chaffing they had suffered the previous time. She finally looked up, only to find that Leon was going through something not unlike her own treatment.  
He was scrabbling for purchase against Shelly, but she had him in a firm lock. In a painful, merciless move, she twisted his arm, applying pressure to force him on his knees. He cried out in pain, and then kept talking, reasoning out something with Shelly. The shortgunner was losing patience, Nita could see it. So it was not unexpected that she released Leon suddenly, only to pull out her gun to slam the butt into Leon's head. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Colt frowned at Shelly for the overly violent move, but said nothing for now.  
"Alright, Nita. Firstly, welcome back. It's good to have you home." Colt began, and Nita rolled her eyes. "Now then, Leon has an obvious attachment to you. We haven't got the full story out of him, but you went through a lot of trouble for him, didn't you? He probably views you as his hero or something." Colt explained. Nita gave him a hard look. Get to the point.  
"Alright, alright. Geez. The point is, don't you think that you could be good friends?" It took a moment for the question to register. She rolled her eyes again. Colt himself said that she would hurt him sooner or later, so why even try? "Hear me out. Leon is the class assassin. He's got a huge damage output, a fast speed, and he's good at hiding. Maybe his health isn't that awesome, but still. He can stop you. So you trying to bite him isn't an issue, because you won't have a chance to!" Colt told her earnestly. She seriously doubted it. Yes, maybe Leon could take her down. But would he be willing to attack her to stop her? If he viewed her as his hero, that was very unlikely. That was considering he still wanted to be with her after today.  
"Well, you'll get to be with him anyway, so give it a shot. He still favours you, so you're doing all sorts of fun activities with him all through the week." Colt added. Nita sighed. So that was the point. No matter what she wanted, she was going to deal with Leon so she had better like it. Of course it was something like that. Perhaps she would get a chance to be friends with him after all. She worked her mouth, and Colt released the gag after a moment.  
"Reon. Mi. Wrends?" She asked Colt, and the hope she tried to bury shone through. He smiled, a genuine, soft, happy smile. "Yes. Yes, I think you'll be great friends." Nita felt the hope blossom into something beautiful and sweet, fresh and new. She dreamily thought that it was the perfect end to a story, but of course it was not the end of her day. After all that nice, hopeful talk, Colt proceeded to give her a verbal lashing in the privacy of her house. She stood through a whole lecture, the consequence of running away and launching an attack earlier. It lasted a good two hours, and she had to wonder how he had so much to say on such a small topic.  
Then he continued with another long briefing on the week's events. He made sure she knew everything that was going to happen, and that she knew how to go through with it. He made her go through with a couple of them too. He made sure she could recite everything by heart, and then launched into another long talk when it showed that she had been daydreaming and could list nothing. It was the worst kind of punishment, in her opinion. Words, words, and yet more words. It was indefinitely boring and torturous. At the end of it, she was half asleep, when Colt suddenly sprung a question on her.  
"Do you love Leon?" He asked curiously. Nita jerked awake. Colt made a heart shape with his hands and pursed his lips, as if kissing the air. Nita could feel the mortification building up at the implications, her face burning red. She shook her head vigorously, both to deny the accusation and to get all the thoughts Colt had planted out of her head. Her loving Leon in that way was as good as saying she loved Jessie. In the romantic, kissy, marriage kind of way. Never, ever, in a million years, would she dream of it.  
Yes, she loved Jessie as a si- very close and valued friend. Yes, she liked Leon for the same reasons she liked Jessie. Perhaps, with time, she might like Leon more, to the point of how she loved Jessie, but not romantically. Never. He was just a child, young and innocent and bright. Believing in the best, hoping for the best as well. It was as if someone took Jessie and changed her appearance to Leon.  
"You sure? Because you two sure looked lovey dovey. Hugging and all," Colt teased. Nita gave him a deadpan look, and he laughed. "Really, when he snuggled into you and you snuggled into him. Both of you sleeping while hugging each other. It was so sweet! Not to mention the amount of trouble you must have went through to get him here." Nita growled uneasily at the reminder. She never wanted to revisit that day. She could see that Colt was dying to know what happened, but he sensed her trepidation. She had to commend him for holding back his curious nature. Colt left it at that, leaving with a last reminder to bathe. Nita was simountanously grateful he did not push her, and upset that he did not. The bath was nowhere as soothing as it normally was. The memory of that day haunted her, leaving her no rest and no peace.  
It was all over her nightmares that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you really blame Nita? She got attacked by wolves, of course she's going to dream about them in her feverish state. As for Leon...looks like he's going to survive, after all. Though I must say he's terribly unfit and getting wayyy too attached to Nita.  
> If you don't know what Colt is talking about, in 12.3, when Nita got Leon to help, she actually woke up briefly, although she doesn't remember that. I mean she was awake for 5 seconds in the middle of a fever, what do you expect? Anyway, Leon ended up cuddling up with her and she let him, sort of cuddling back too. It's not a ship though. No ships here. DON'T YOU DARE SHIP IT. It's literally two fever induced children cuddling which is fluff and cuteness not a ship. I mean, it's not really cuteness and fluff, but you get the idea.  
> Side note: anyone ever played or watched playthroughs of the game undertale? It's the love of my life...


	20. Chapter 14 - Stranger

Often, the worst part of waking up was that you lost the comfort of sleep. Nita shared the sentiment, of course. When she was having pleasant dreams. Otherwise, waking up was always a relief, providing her the end to the nightmares that plagued her sleep. Waking up to Bo was sort of expected, and yet still made for a good surprise. She knew the rotation should start with him, but him being on duty yesterday made it unexpected that he was here. She rose without complaint, and the two of them made their quiet way to the bar. She had to admit it was good to see all the faces she had missed for nearly a month. She slipped into her usual seat, Bo occupying the one to her left. Then Leon appeared, taking the seat to her right.  
"New faces!" Barley declared. He slid a drink towards her, and Nita took it gladly. "And what may I get you, young gentleman?" Leon took a moment before realising he was being addressed. He quickly shook his head, not familiar with the menu. Barley accepted the answer, drifting off to other customers.  
Colt had told her she was supposed to introduce Leon to all the people in town today. She sighed, deciding she might as well get started. She snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention, then pointed to Barley. "Ar-ree," she told him.  
"Ar-ree," Leon repeated. Maybe he got briefed on what he would be doing with her today as well, which was why he seemed to know she was introducing him to everyone. Unfortunately, he was copying the way she pronounced the names too well, since her version was severely off.  
"Barley," Bo interjected. Leon looked painfully confused as to who was right. "Perhaps you should just bring him from one person to another, Nita," Bo added. Nita glared at the eagle. She couldn't deny that it was a good plan, but she loathed to take any suggestion from the eagle. Bo carefully, subtly revealed the taser in his hand, and Nita hated him all the more for it. Fine. They would take a tour of the bar. Before she could move, Bo pushed a plate over to her. The intention was clear. She growled. Fine. She would eat her breakfast first. She finished in record time, glowering as she pushed the plate back to Bo with way more force than necessary. He caught the plate anyway, without anything breaking, much to her disappointment. Then she had to wait anyway for Leon to finish. He took a ridiculous amount of time, slowly eating his way through the plate. He finally gave up when the plate was about half empty, confessing that he was full.  
Much to her irritation, Bo accepted that and allowed Leon to get off with only eating half the plate. He even told Barley to prepare less for lunch. Nita was extremely annoyed, but Bo's hard stare told her not to argue. She took a long moment, glaring daggers at him, silently promising that she would get back at him for this unfair treatment, before she just started the introductions with him. It made the long stare down seem like a silent conversation, and Leon didn't question the potential hostility in the slightest. Bo also behaved cordially despite the tension with Nita, rising to his feet to shake Leon's hand.  
"I am Bo. And you are Leon," the eagle said calmly. Leon just nodded, and followed as Nita led him to Barley. The bartender bowed slightly stiffly, and once again asked Leon on his choice of a drink. Leon looked stuck between saying no again and offending Barley, or saying yes without really wanting anything. Nita broke up the situation, gesturing to Barley that she would love if she could have another drink.  
"You wish!" Barley exclaimed in mock anger. Nita simply laughed, and gave him a teasing salute as she pulled Leon to the next person. Darryl was that next person. He suddenly popped out of his barrel, making Nita jump at the surprise. On the other hand, Leon, not used to Darryl's antics, screeched bloody murder and threw five blades at once with a quick flick of his wrist. Darryl retreated back into his barrel at the assault, and Nita tackled Leon to the ground. Leon was trashing all over the place, but he barely had enough strength to move around, let alone struggle, after his long coma. She held him down easily, awkwardly patting his head, trying to get him to calm down. She thought she understood what it was like to be Colt while she threw everything she had into getting out of his hold. It was a tiring and boring job, and she could not help but feel sorry for Leon.  
The whole affair made it an awkward introduction between Darryl and Leon. Leon was furious at Darryl for the jumpscare, and making him panic for no reason The trashcan did seemed genuinely sorry, which helped to pacify Leon a little. In hopes of lightening the mood, Nita privately told Leon her nickname for Darryl. He had sort of asked for it, pretending to be a trash can to jump out and scare someone. Piper had actually thrown rubbish in, though, and from then on Nita could only think of trash cans looking at Darryl. The majority of the village actually affectionately called him the trashcan, teasing him for it, but he always took it in stride. It was still a good laugh, though, remembering Darryl popping out in surprise with trash on his head in place of his hat.  
After that Nita brought Leon to Frank. Frank didn't play tricks, unlike the majority of the village, devising tricks and pranks to spring on others. They had to get Bo to help with the introductions, though, since all Nita could get out was, "raanc", and Frank himself grunted and moaned wordlessly. Leon seemed to get along much better anyway, smiling and making one-sided small talk. After all that was over and done with, she heard Leon telling Frank quietly, "your hammer is really cool. I like it." Frank seemed rather pleased by the complement, and Nita pretended that she didn't hear the private conversation. If Leon wanted to say something privately, she could pretend her superior senses heard nothing. They popped out of the bar to introduce Leon to El Primo. The heavyweight declared something in his weird language, posing dramatically. Then he shouted, "Ellllllllll Priiimooooo!!!!", dragging out the name. He also rolled the r in a way Nita could never manage. It was really cool, but El Primo was all over the place in the shortest possible amount of time everyday. He was just that way, which made it near impossible to find him, and he only said his name over and over when Nita asked him. She had given up ever learning how to produce that cool sound.  
Leon also met Bull, who came in to check on her. He was probably the most intimidating out of all the heavyweights. Heavyweights were generally big and scary and strong, but Bull had that criminal look to him. Leon looked like he was going to run or fight, so Nita stepped forward. She patted Bull's arm to show that she was alright, smiling slightly as she waved for Leon and Bull to introduce themselves. Bull did his best not to look as if he was glaring or sizing up the other brawler, but he was failing big time.  
"Bull," he said gruffly, and held out his hand for a handshake. It was a completely normal greeting- rather polite for Bull- but Leon still took off running. Nita slapped hands with him instead, snorting as she pushed him out of the door. He protested something about not getting his drink, but Nita ignored it. She all but kicked him out, and the last thing she heard was Bull yelling, "Ah'll git ya fer that, ya jus watch, Nit!" The Junkers also popped in, a never before seen phenomenon. Nita had seen Pam come in before, mostly when she was half dead with work, but she forbade Jessie to enter and learn to drink. Jessie being here was like all good parenting coming to an end. However, for some reason, Leon was scared of Jessie, hiding behind Nita and peering out warily. It was worse than with Bull, and it discouraged Jessie from staying too long.  
Pam left with Jessie, which was for the best, because now she wouldn't have to deal with that healer. Maybe Colt told everyone to pop by for the benefit of Leon, that was why everyone was appearing, Jessie included.  
Colt himself came by, with the rest of the police force. They laughed and chatted all the way in, occupying a whole table. Nita dutifully brought Leon to meet the lot of them. She thought it was pretty normal that Leon was not too open with Colt, and down right terrified of Shelly, considering what happened yesterday. Who would still manage to be open and friendly after that? He was creeped out by Spike and Tara, an expected response. After all, a plant with gaping voids for eyes and a mouth, as well as a talking mummy was less than normal, even by their standards. And they had some weird people. Amazingly, he got along with Ricochet. Maybe it was just her that had a problem with the robot. Leon also got along with Piper, one of the few 'more normal' people around. The police group left after half an hour anyway. They probably had duties to attend to. There was no time to feel lonely or anything else before the next person came in.  
"Here beary, beary, beary!" Someone called with way too much energy for a time so early in the morning. Technically, it was afternoon by now, but it felt like morning. Dynamike bounced in, grinning excitedly at Leon, despite his greeting being directed at Nita. Nita hated the stupid nickname he seemed to have adopted for her, but she let it go. Dynamike was special. Nevertheless, it was contributing to her ever growing headache.  
"Oo, green, rhymes with TnT!" Dynamike exclaimed, hopping from foot to foot with his usual excitement. He stilled briefly to inspect Leon's hoodie closely, then the moment passed. However, it served to help Nita realise that Leon was no longer in his dirty clothes. Everything was clean, himself included, and a quick glance revealed that all the clothes were new too. They bore no marks where they had been sewed up. This was Piper's work no matter how she looked at it. Besides the fact that Piper specialised in weaving and the such, only Piper would be particular enough not to patch up old clothes for a new start. Dynamike's laugh brought her out of her thoughts, and she watched as he ran off to talk with someone else, not giving them a chance to respond to anything he said.  
"Don't ya listen ta him. Da old geezer is a little wonky, if ya know what ah mean." Someone said casually. Penny had somehow sneaked into the seat beside Leon, and had a glass of some sort of sour smelling liquid in her hand. Nita bared her teeth at the pirate, who took a gulp from her glass without batting an eye. Leon was looking away from her, and he gazed at the pirate curiously, unlike her, and Nita desperately wished he would not make friends with this brawler. Even Ricochet was preferable. He had a sense of honor he would uphold, but Penny was only loyal to those she deemed worthy. She was completely capable of backstabbing anyone at anytime. Nita made a couple of rude signs, which Penny somehow translated into a prompt to introduce herself.  
"Oh, ah'm Penny," the pirate told Leon, and grinned at him in her usual sly manner. There was something about her posture that subtly suggested that she was grinning at Nita, though, and there was a mocking edge to her smile. Nita could feel her head throbbing from dealing with the pirate. She was extremely close to snapping, and she knew she would decide to attack the pirate, consequences or not. Then Penny slid her gaze elsewhere, and raised an eyebrow.  
"Opps, time ta go." She hopped down from the stool, making a beeline for Dynamike. The thrower was currently juggling his dynamites, much to the alarm of his captive audience, and he was still bouncing all over the place. Penny hissed something to the thrower, who caught his attacks, and ran out, shouting a goodbye to the general public. Everyone sighed in relief as Penny slinked after him, giving Nita one last sly smile. Then she was gone. Her departure was both a relief and an annoyance. Nita wanted to kill her ten times over. She hunched over in her seat, nesting her head in her arms in hopes of a short rest. Maybe it would calm her down, and consequently take away the headache. It did.  
But her relief was short lived. Bo roused her, nudging her lunch towards her. Nita had a feeling she was going to do something she would potentially regret, but still. For some reason, Barley popped into her head, and it convinced her that she should not disappoint him. She reminded herself that food was food, no matter what, over and over as she ate. She still wanted to throw up everything she put into her mouth. Leon actually managed to beat her to finishing lunch, a testimony of how slow she was eating. She had to push the plate back to Bo half full anyway. It felt like taking even one more bite would make everything she had managed to force down come back up. Bo narrowed his eyes at her at the return of the plate. He said nothing for a long moment, simply studying her.  
"Would Poco's presence be necessary?" Bo finally asked. Poco? Was she hurt? She checked herself over, nearly falling off the barstool from a sudden bout of dizziness. At least she had confirmed that she was not hurt. Bo seemed to have other ideas, however, calling for Poco. He arrived with double of his usual boom- Brock by his side.  
"Give me a beat!" Poco shouted, playing a short and catchy tune, while Brock made some sound effects. Poco checked her over, and declared her to be suffering from overexertion. He gave Bo a whole list of instructions, and Nita tuned out. Instead, she watched as Brock heartily shook Leon's hand. Leon looked as if he was trying to regain feeling in his arm from the intense handshake, when he was subjected to a bear hug from Poco. Poco and Brock talked over each other for about a minute, and Leon looked like he was slowly dying, before Nita broke it up. She booted Poco out of the bar, and demanded Brock cross the street back to his house.  
The last two to enter were the assassins. They seemed excited to meet another one of their class, which was why they decided on coming last. All for a nice long chat.  
"Mortis, bringer of doom! The dashing assassin, that's me," Mortis grinned. The sharp and eerie tones made her scared even after knowing him so long, but Leon actually seemed alright with it. "Crow's the name. Toxic assassin!" Crow added on to the introductions. Leon looked fascinated, and Nita finally heard his full introduction. "Leon. Stealthy assassin, at your service." Leon grinned as well. They laughed, seeming to form an instant bond merely over their class, and Nita felt a stab of jealousy. When she had arrived, nothing like that had happened. She was a Summoner, yes, but she was a Fighter too. Yet the small distinction had made everything awkward. She turned and stomped out of the bar, heading home without any outside help. She plopped into her bed, scowling at the wall. Then, for a lack of better ways to do it, she snarled and clawed at the wall to vent her anger. Thankfully, like all other houses, it was made of hewn stone. She attacked it with vigour, but no harm came to it. It left her with a feeling of dissatisfaction that kept her up all night long, waiting for something that she herself was not sure on what it was. No matter what it was, it never came.  
Nobody came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, Nita...it's actually because of your familiar, not you... Anyway, I thought that Nita getting back in would be boring to write for sure, but I found some plot to throw in, haha. I'm officially done with writing _Running Wild_ , and now I'm searching for a plot. Well, still searching for a plot. I mean I was since either last chapter or last last chapter, but...well, I'm still searching. If anyone's interested, that is. I mean you would get to read something you want to read without having to write it.  
> Did you know that's how Running Wild came about? I was tired of looking at fanart, searched for fanfics and found nothing substantial, and said, "well fine be that way I'll write a fanfic so I can read it fight me-". Yeah. After that came "what if Nita was part bear and couldn't control her bear instincts?", and somehow it became a full 25 chapters though I thought I'd just write a short little 10 chapters or so, haha.  
> I'm considering writing a fanfic of the original 21 brawlers backstory(based on their old descriptions), but it's just so much work to plan everything out. Or maybe I should write Bo having a temper tantrum over 10 chapters consisting of one sentence each, haha.(Eturnal's idea!)


	21. Chapter 15 - Lost

A shadow fell across her floor, impossibly long from the early dawn light. A stout figure rose from a corner, stepping into the light to confer with the shorter, slimmer figure. There was a long moment, filled with murmurs that was full of low, urgent tones, then the stouter figure exited. The one that had just came in slid into a chair that was conveniently beside her bed. The early light concealed the fact that she was still awake for now, but Nita knew that sooner or later her little act would be out. So far, her meetings with Colt were not personal. There was always something else to do, and they danced around that, never quite meeting face to face. But now, there was nothing but her and the sheriff. No more, no less. Later today, there would be Leon and the tour around town to hide behind, but not now.  
She didn't particularly want to see Leon either. Maybe she should just deal with Colt now, and make it one less person to dance and dodge around. It was a good plan, but she could not find the energy to carry it out. The feeling of dissatisfaction had faded eventually, leaving her numb and empty, waiting for something that never came. She watched Colt with half-lidded eyes, following him as he inspected the marks on the wall. He carefully checked her over too, as if making sure that she had not accidentally hurt herself.  
"Thart eeshent ro-ite." She murmured softly. Colt jumped, and she just watched blankly as he struggled to control his surprise. Colt was an adult, but he was still young. Once, he had been a child too, and had been raised by someone. They were not that different in that aspect. Of course, she was still the age of a child, unlike Colt, but she had broken off from her mother figure. The thought sent a stab of pain through her, but she ignored it. It was her fault. The thought made her numb and cold.  
"When did you wake up?" Colt spluttered at long last, seeming to find words to express his surprise. Considering she never slept, she supposed that there was no time when she woke up. "Ne-err swecht," she shrugged with the shoulder not pinned under her body. Colt looked like he was going to say something, but then he stopped. There was a moment where he seemed to consider something, and Nita let him have his time. Then some sort of resolve settled into him, and he spoke firmly.  
"Don't tell Piper this, but...sometimes I don't sleep too. To be frank, I skip meals all the time, and I might overwork a bit. Just a bit, though," Colt laughed awkwardly as he confessed. There was a nervous undertone to his voice, and Nita knew it was a huge step of trust. Colt wanted her to trust him, which was why he was trusting her first. It was slightly surprising, and the confession made her smile slightly. The natural reply was to confess what she did as well, but Nita was not up to it. The recent incident with Colt, plus certain events had left a bitter sense of pain and betrayal that would not let go. Instead, she shifted to make room for the sheriff on her bed. There was a moment of hesitation, before he moved to sit on her bed. He did not seem to expect Nita to say anything.  
"What happened? The time you dragged Leon back." Colt suddenly asked. Nita paused, unsure if she wanted to answer. She sort of owed him an explanation, though. "Arrsed Reon?" She clarified. Colt shrugged. Maybe Leon had not wanted to answer, or had given vague replies, or Colt wanted the other side of the story. "Ound Reon. Urrt. Wouves undted us." Nita finally produced. It was the best thing she could hope to say that was condensed, and still understandable. Colt nodded thoughtfully. Then, "and before that, the day with Piper...you were projecting me to be-" Nita cut him off with a growl. It was a topic best left unvisited.  
"You can't hide forever." Colt said slowly, studying her with a critical eye. Nita sat up in bed to fold her arms across her chest, and give Colt a look along the lines of 'try me'. Obvious frustration was painted across his face, and he suddenly inserted, "you pretended I was Pam." The impact of the statement was akin to him dumping cold water over her. Nita completely froze up. For a start, how did he know? Perhaps he might have guessed, but how did he know for sure? Secondly, the name itself made her freeze. In the silence of the house, it was too easy to remember everything that had happened. She could still see Pam, screaming and sobbing, and the glint of the knife as it came slicing down. She could still remember the pain, as she screamed and cried too, and then the pain exploding in her-  
Nita cut herself off. It hurt to remember. The scars burned with an unforgotten pain, a faint shadow of a better time best left alone. Maybe Colt was right. She could run, but she could not hide from the memory. Not when she was forced to remember it every day. Speaking of Colt, he was studying her with one of those analytical looks. The kind that cut to the core, and revealed everything to him, the crucial base of his perceptiveness. Nita returned the look steadily. She knew he harboured secrets as well.  
"Nita, please. I don't have a clear idea of what happened exactly. Just tell me. You will feel better, really," Colt pressed her. It was obvious that he wanted to help her, and even more so that he wanted to know. What exactly had happened That Day was a mystery, and Nita wanted to keep it that way. She knew exactly how to do it. She was in the same position as Colt for once. Faced with Colt trying to get her to open up, she confronted him with his own reality.  
"Oou? Whart did i-err doo?" She challenged. Colt actually flinched, face flushing. She had never seen anyone have that kind of reaction when asked that calibre of question before. How interesting. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying and failing to form words.  
"...how do you know? That something happened." Colt finally whispered. Nita did not reply. If she had to live with her questions, he could live with his. "Tell me!" He demanded, and even though he looked at her face to face, there was a deer in the headlights kind of look to him. A sudden inspiration struck her.  
"Washion ore washion," she offered. She grinned savagely, and added, "ruthe ore ruthe." Colt seemed frozen by the prospect. Finally, he nodded stiffly, obviously intrigued by the idea of getting the truth for his questions. She gestured for him to start first.  
"Back then, you could talk properly. Why can't you anymore?" Colt asked. It seemed like the most burning question he had, and it made Nita recoil. Her voice was one of the most precious things that she had lost- forever. It was a sore subject at best, which was probably why Colt wanted to know. She paused before saying, "se-rret." She gestured to the walls of her house, indicating that whatever was said stayed between them only. Colt didn't hesitate in agreeing, with more than a hint of relief. Nita still hesitated. Then she lifted her chin, tracing a line across her throat. She could not quite look him in the eye. To his credit, he only let out a quiet, "oh", and he sounded pained.  
"Whart did i-err doo?" Nita asked, now that it was her turn. It seemed their roles had been reversed, because this time Colt flinched- again. He flushed bright red, and Nita couldn't help but wonder at the colour. "...it wasn't anything much," Colt hedged. Nita gave him a deadpan look. He studiously avoided eye contact until Nita pretty much shoved her face in his, and only then did he cave.  
"Alright, alright! I had this stuffed bear before, remember? Piper would just take out an eye every time I did something wrong, and put it back if I behaved. Happy?" Colt snapped. His face was definitely red from embarrassment. Nita laughed lightly. She did remember that Colt used to have this cute little bear soft toy, missing a sizable bit of its stuffing and with only one sad button for it's eye. Sometimes it lost it's reminding eye, but it always seemed to get it back sooner or later. Colt had studiously stitched it up every time it was torn, until it was more thread than cloth, but the intention was there.  
"How did you know, though?" Colt asked. Nita shrugged. This was easy. She had to admit, a childish part of her had longed to have a bear too. She couldn't bring Big Baby Bear out every time she wanted to cuddle or have something to cling to. Having a little stuffed bear had fascinated her, and she had snuck over to Piper's house often and peeked in or eavesdropped to see if she could learn how to have a little stuffed bear too. The mission failed, and more often than not she ended up sitting through one of Piper's lectures towards Colt, unable to move. There was always the little part near the end where sometimes Colt would plead for Piper not to do that, but she didn't know what that was. She told Colt as much, then continued with her next question.  
"Hoou dou oou noue whern there's trraba?" She asked. She dearly wanted to know how Colt, with his normal human senses, could know when and where there was trouble. He also managed to turn up at the perfect moment to save the day. It should be impossible, yet he did it. Since he asked such a mild question, she could ask a mild but burning question too. Colt seemed puzzled by her question, furrowing his brow as he thought about it.  
"It's like...a voice, or a feeling, just telling me. That something is wrong. Then I just go through a logical deduction of where something could be going wrong, and I turn up. Sometimes I deduce wrongly, and I turn up at the wrong place, and I end up coming too late. Like that time, you know?" He replied. He struggled to describe it the whole way through. Nita wondered if it was like a sixth sense.  
"Talking about that time...what did Pam do, exactly?" He asked then. Nita knew it was coming, but it still made her feel lost and unprepared. Frankly, though, what had Pam Junker not done? Nita laughed bitterly, and she thought it might have been bordering on insane. "Whart, cut mi, arnd krool mi? Whart, maiard mi oouse arh oiche?" Nita laughed again, because she refused to cry, and laughing was the only other alternative. She had to turn away to wipe at the hot tears prickling her eyes anyway, mouth still twisted upwards in a bitter grimace. Colt said nothing.  
"Assth washion," Nita said tiredly. "Rrewhet bea-ng shawiff?" Colt started to answer immediately, but Nita held up a hand to stop him. "Oo-ight." She told him. In the meantime, she started on soup. Tradition, or perhaps laws, demanded they all did something once they were an adult. She knew she was still a child technically, and could do nothing, but had taken up a simple role of soup cooker. She could be a hunter when she grew up a little more and this whole nonsense of staying in the village was over. It was already morning, and she knew Leon would appear soon. That was alright. She had mended her relationship with Colt, even learnt something more. She could handle Leon.  
And she did. She pulled the assassin from place to place, laughing at his utter lack of direction. He started to backtrack multiple times without realising it, thinking he was headed to the next place. Sometime along the way, she forgave Leon for being happy with the other assassins. It was not his fault, after all. They laughed and joked together, and Nita thought they might well be on their way to being good friends. Leon even managed to roll along with Bull, although he was still terrified of the heavyweight. Together, the four of them- Bull, Colt, Leon and her- ran round after round through the maze called home. Leon was completely lost, pointing to wrong directions at every turn and every question, but that was alright. He would probably be around her for a long while.  
The only thing he could pinpoint accurately was where the forest was, and hence where Nita's house was. It was uncanny, him being able to point to the correct direction instantly no matter how lost he was currently. The other two had to take a moment to get their bearings, while Leon and her had already identified the correct direction. It made Colt uneasy, she could tell. It seemed he did not trust Leon not to run off to the forest either. Maybe it was because Leon was a half-and-half who belonged to the forest as well. The forest had a claim on him, and he would visit it sooner or later. Maybe he would not return. Maybe she could go with him. The thought excited her, having a partner to watch her back, who wanted to live in the forest as well. Nita was determined to make Leon her best friend.  
Jessie Junker. The name popped into her mind unbidden at the thought of a best friend. Nita could imagine the hurt kind of face Jessie would have, knowing she was replaced by Leon. Then again, she could always settle for Leon being her second best friend. Or a partner in not crime.  
"Leon. Do you like the forest?" Colt asked carefully. Leon cocked his head to the side, looking curious and contemplative. Nita begged Leon to say anything but yes internally. "Yes. The forest is very pretty," Leon replied, with a fond smile. Nita mentally slapped him, and then buried her face in her palms. There went any hope for escape. Colt continued his line of questioning casually. Too casually. "Would you choose to live there, then?" There was no hesitation when Leon replied.  
"No." Nita was surprised. She thought he would say yes. Colt also looked caught off guard, and pressed his line of questioning. "Why not?" Leon chuckled at that. "Aren't you curious? Because it's dangerous, of course! Wolves, for one..." He trailed off, turning his head away. Nita had forgotten that he might have had a bad impression. Maybe he was not a good candidate to be her partner after all. Colt looked satisfied with the answer, though, and way less worried.  
"Are we done?" Leon asked. Nita blinked at him. She had intended on going one last round, or maybe two, but Leon looked reluctant. Now that she looked closely, she could see that he was panting, and for some reason he looked tired, despite his lack of eyes to show it. She cut short the tour, nodding and allowing Leon to return home to rest. The assassin seemed relieved, providing one last laugh as he tried to pinpoint where they were. The laugh was that he failed miserably, somehow taking their position to be the other side of town. Nita could have let Colt bring him home, but Colt still owed her an answer. She guided Leon to Poco's home instead, the healer being one of the few houses that actually had more than one bed. Then, she silently demanded for her answer from Colt.  
"Sometimes," he sighed, and did not elaborate. It was more or less a satisfactory answer anyway, and Nita returned home under the watch of Colt. She was tired, today, after all the activity of running around. Sleep eluded her for a while, but ultimately claimed her. It was impossible not to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note, Leon can actually pinpoint where the forest is faster than Nita. And I know some of you hate Nita talking because you don't know what's happening, but well. My advice is to sound out the word, and it should sound pretty similar to the original word. I got it by sounding it out myself, then translating it to words, after all.  
> By the way, I was planning out how all the old descriptions would fit into a single story, and I was thinking about how I could maybe split them up to stay in different places, when KairosTime, a YouTuber, dropped a video. It was pretty much how the brawl world would look like, and I just sort of went "NANI-"  
> I guess progress will be a little faster than expected. I'll make some changes so it fits better, and makes a little more sense, but yeah. I'm stealing that idea and you can't stop me. This also means that the layout of where Running Wild is based in will only hold true for this story and this story alone.


	22. Chapter 16 - Esteem

Ricochet was one of the best fighters around. He was one of few who could attack with the inconvenience of walls in his way- without destroying them. There was always Dynamike and Barley, who were classified as Throwers. They attacked over walls with ease. Then there was a whole bunch of them who could throw their Supers over walls, or destroy walls with their Supers. But Ricochet attacked by bouncing his shots off walls. It was extremely effective, especially in closed areas. He was also the deputy sheriff, known for his deadly strategy and calm decisions. He was a big contribution to them, but Nita could not like him. She tolerated him, and put up with him, outright defying him when she was angry at him.  
But getting along was not on the list. Nita was annoyed to find that Colt had failed to switch out Ricochet. He was still in charge of her today, and for the rest of todays every week. She considered throwing a riot, no matter Leon and his opinion of her, just to make sure Ricochet was out of her schedule. At the same time, Leon had gotten along fine, even quite liking Ricochet, and she supposed that she should allow Leon his time with the robot. Talking of the robot, he was currently right beside her, as if he had been summoned by the mere thought of him. There was the childish desire to not comply, and make his life as difficult as she could, and the reasonable voice telling her to try and get along. Logic won out- if she was seeing him every week she did not want to make things worse.  
It was logic that drove her out of bed, and sent her trotting over to Dynamike's house. It had the unfortunate position of being close to the forge, but it was bearable, if she just averted her gaze away. Out of sight, out of mind.  
Leon was already in Dynamike's house. He was putting up with the thrower, probably so that he would not have to deal with Darryl. Nita knew he was still sore over the fright, even though all was well and forgiven. Children were petty that way. Leon instantly peeled away from Dynamike to join her and Ricochet the moment he could. She knew he preferred Ricochet any old day. However, he would not be seeing much of the robot. Today, the activity was cooking, and for all his merits, Nita knew that Ricochet could only produce one kind of food- burnt food. Bread, egg, stew, even soup...everything ended up as a black mess. Today, she had the duty to teach Leon, and assess his skills. There were natural-born cooks like Poco or Pam or Barley, who generally supported the village. Then there were fair cooks who could sustain themselves, like Penny, or Tara, or Colt. And to complete it, there were those hopeless people who produced food less edible than it's raw form. This section included Ricochet, naturally, besides people like El Primo, or Crow, or Frank. Today was meant to be an assessment to file Leon into the proper category.  
The first test was breakfast itself. It was simple, Nita guiding Leon through on making a sandwich. Dynamike hovered nearby, throwing in his two cents worth. Colt should have just asked Dynamike to teach Leon. He was a much better cook. Leon did pretty alright, and Nita tentatively decided it would be alright to let him cook something for lunch. Ricochet couldn't even make a sandwich. He was just that hopeless. The sandwiches he made resembled lumps of uncoordinated food slices unevenly decorating the plate. It was horrendous to look at, and just as horrendous to eat. It never tasted right, for some reason, despite the ingredients being the same.  
The second test was still simple- a soup. Nita guided him through the steps, although she did not step in to assist him. She directed him on what to do, watching as he stumbled through the steps. She only intervened when it looked as if he was going to cut his own hand off by accident. She corrected his grip, moving his hands through the motion a couple of times before releasing him. At least it looked as if he could follow directions without turning the food into an unrecognizable mess. She had no idea how, but the hopeless cooks always somehow, somehow, turned any food into something more akin to poison. She had watched them go through the same steps, so how did it turn out different? It was a mystery to her up till now. It would likely remain one forever.  
Leon still did alright. He was by no means exceptional, but he did not produce something inedible either. It was not as good as something she might have produced- the soup was too thin, and the chunks of potatoes and carrots either too large or too small- but it was acceptable. It lacked the finer taste from onions, or a dash of salt and pepper that Dynamike always catched as well, but Dynamike was a pretty awesome cook, like Poco. Leon would probably fit into the same category as her- the kind that barely managed to cook something not inedible. With practice, he could probably do pretty well. Likely better than her.  
Dinner was not another solo act. While Nita appreciated how hard Leon was trying, it was meant to be a last, good meal. Dynamike was busy singing to his bird, and did not respond when she asked for him to cook. She gave the bird the stinkeye for taking up Dynamike's attention and hence stealing the possibility of a good meal from her. Darryl, like most heavyweights, seemed to lack the ability to cook well. He tended to produce food that was either too wet and oily, or too dry and spicy. He was known for one thing and one thing only- curry. Originally a failure of a soup attempt, the too-spicy recipe had a certain kind of charm to it that they ended up accepting and even liking. It was much drier than soup, way too spicy to be considered soup, and slightly powdery from most of the ingredients disintegrating into a big mess. It was this unique clash of tastes that most people liked, which put Darryl into the position of curry cook, since no one else could bear to see soup becoming not-soup. Still, Nita didn't want to eat curry, so Darryl was out of her list too. Considering that Ricochet was never on it, it left her to cook dinner.  
Fine. She could cook, after all. Who said she couldn't cook?  
Apparently Leon did. He seemed concerned over how she would be cooking their dinner. He insisted that it was alright for him to cook, and she could just give him directions. After all, some people knew the theory of cooking, but simply couldn't do it. He fretted over her endlessly, and Nita thought it was because she was young. Maybe he thought that someone young like her would not be able to handle themselves in the kitchen. He seemed to think that Ricochet could cook, though, and the irony made her laugh.  
"Riro," she called, trying very hard not to laugh. "Reon runts oou toou cooche!" She lost it the moment she got everything out, howling with laughter at how absurd the statement was. Ricochet looked annoyed at how his skills of cooking were being openly made fun of, but he couldn't exactly deny it. He produced burnt charcoal on a regular basis and he knew it. His eye flashed between a water droplet shape and a cross randomly, as if he was not quite sure what to feel, unhappy or angry.  
"I cannot cook," he finally said. "Ask Nita to do it." His eye still flashed between the two shapes, and there was a third shape now- a spiral. Uncertainty. The robot was probably unsure of being unable to do something asked of him. After all, he was quite a big contribution to them. He always managed to help when asked. This was one of the few places where he fell short, though, but it was not like anyone brought it up. Now that it had been, being unable to do it, and admitting that, was probably killing him.  
"You...can't?" Leon asked. He sounded disappointed, as if he had expected Ricochet to be able to do everything. It must have been a huge shock, and a terrible let down, learning that someone you looked up to was not quite what you thought they were. Ricochet's eye flashed into the water droplet and stayed there, squishing itself flatter with shame. His answer was flat as always, "no," and emotionless unlike what his eye betrayed. Nita knew better. She knew he was upset.  
She took pity on the robot, deciding on a baked rice recipe. She knew he liked that. It was something most of the robots seemed to like, a common taste, she supposed. It was a mystery how exactly they processed food, but then again it was a mystery how the food appeared, too. The Brawl Box was a cartoonish, cute looking blue box that sat in the middle of town. The Mega Box was right beside it- identified by it's larger size and purple colouring. Somehow, dumping 100 Tokens into the Brawl Box made the tightly sealed box open, and spit out contents like rice, or flour, or milk, or in one classic case, a pot- straight into Barley's face. Similarly, dumping 10 Star Tokens to the Mega Box made it open. The most mysterious part was that the Tokens disappeared. How it happened? No one knew. Of course, there was always the classic answer going around.  
Magic.  
Of course she knew it was magic. It was what made the land run. It could be used to account for why the robots needed to eat, how they did it, why they could respawn after dying, why the stupid Box wouldn't open or break unless you fed it Tokens, or even why there was day and night. Magic ruled here. Maybe food was just a representation of magic. She did not know. What she did know was that Ricochet still needed to eat, and call her soft-hearted, but she was going to make him pity baked rice. It was not like she disliked it either.  
Nita moved through the motions mechanically. She could feel someone's presence watching her, and saw Leon out of the corner of her eye occasionally. He really worried too much. She had been cooking for a long time now. Even before That Time, where Pam had-  
Nita shook her head, cutting off her thoughts. Now, because of Colt and his stupid question and answer session, she kept thinking about it. She glared at the baking rice, as if everything was all it's fault. Technically, it was for Ricochet, and if not for him, Colt would have arrived earlier, and she wouldn't have had to go through a lot of things, so it sort of was in a very far-linked, twisted sort of way. Not really, though. But sort of. Nita pushed away her thoughts again. She really needed to stop thinking about it. She concentrated on the aroma filling the kitchen instead, and Leon's face as worry and fear slowly gave way to amazement and awe.  
"That smells so goooooooood..." Leon sighed, moving closer to inhale the aroma more fully. Nita chuckled, steering Leon out of the kitchen despite his protests. So much for not being able to cook. He was back in the kitchen the moment she released him, though, and she gave up trying to get him out. As long as he didn't get in her way it was fine. She waited patiently, only pulling out the tray after a long moment. The crust was golden brown now, the best combination of rice, cheese, carrots, cauliflower, and corn possible in her opinion. Leon whined something not quite audible, even as she carefully moved it to the table. She hated how hot things always burned. Then again, the burns healed over the night, so it was not exactly a big problem.  
Dynamike bounded up to the table, followed closely by the rest of her guard team. For being in charge of watching her, they had not exactly kept an eye on her. That was good, though. The more time she had alone the better. She was almost always never alone now. Dynamike laughed giddily, throwing down a couple of dynamites and continuing to run. The dynamites blew up after a short moment, and sent Dynamike flying through the air to land nicely on a chair.  
"Dynamike!" He declared, putting emphasis on every syllabus of his name. No one could really compete with that- Dynamike had a unique Star Power that allowed him to ride on his dynamites' explosion in a jump. It was lovingly known as Dyna-jump, and Dynamike used it often outside of battle. He was kind of short, and being able to jump over walls and the such was very useful in taking shortcuts. He used to show off as well, of course. Like he just did.  
(Nita would never admit it out loud, but she thought it was one of the coolest Star Powers around. She could never decide between his, Bo's and Tara's on which was the coolest.)  
"Food!" Dynamike demanded, and Nita obligingly gave him a portion. She moved steadily, ignoring how Dynamike already started eating, as she moved around the table. Then she sat down, taking a mouth and sighing in appreciation of it. Dynamike could have done better, though. Literally anyone could have done better. She just was not that good in cooking. She had told Bull that much when he demanded for her to teach him how to cook, and when Colt asked her to teach Leon. No one listened to her, though. They kept insisting she was good in cooking, and good at teaching. Well, each to their own.  
Ricochet had not said anything, his eye a simple dot. He briefly made eye contact with her, and it flashed into a spade for a very short period of time. Just long enough for her to get a glimpse of it. It was enough for her to understand his thanks and grudging gratitude. She blinked in reply, cocking her head to the side subtly, and he broke the contact. It was all part of the small subtle language each person had. It was way too dangerous to verbally communicate any plan during Events. Instead, every one of them had a certain set of body movements and small gestures to 'talk' with each other. It was large enough for everyone to see it, but not so much that the other team could, preventing the communication of ideas. Ricochet usually used his eye, taking advantage of how he could flash different shapes. Nita herself moved her head and facial expressions to communicate her ideas. She knew Jessie mostly used quick, small movements of her hands. Everyone had something different. It was their job to subtly use it, and to spot it from others. Apparently, Ricochet was going to use it so as to slide her a message discreetly. Well, so would she.  
When he escorted home that night, it was more of a companionable silence than an awkward one. It filled the space between them comfortably, no longer creating a yawning gap in between. When she looked up, she found his eye to be flashing between several shapes. Spiral. Teardrop. Cross. Circle. Triangle. Spade. Nita could roughly translate his feelings, if she just looked a little longer, but she looked away instead. Best give him his privacy. She got into bed with no complaint. Maybe, if this kept up, she might actually get along with the robot. It might be nice, not constantly being at someone else's throat. Especially when said person was a much respected member of the community.  
She was not quite sure what to feel about it.  
She was never sure anymore. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sigh... I swear he was still Ricochet when I wrote the story. Anyway, he obviously can't cook, look at him, I headcanon it and you can't stop me I dare you FIGHT ME-  
> Anyway, Nita doesn't hate Rico per se. She just has problems tolerating him. Their personalities are complete opposites, and unlike what people say, opposites don't always attract. They're too vastly different. It's not like one says A and the other says B, it's that one says A and the other says anything except A...  
> Nita is a good cook, she just doesn't accept it. She has a pretty messed up personality right now, because of a spoiler. She's been pretty assertive, demanding, and aggressive over certain issues, but when it comes to others her self esteem just drops.  
> Leon actually admires Ricochet, but he practically worships Nita. She kind of saved him, you know? He's not so much concerned she can't cook- he thinks she can do anything under the sun- but he's worried that if she cooks she might hurt herself. It's just that Nita interpreted it wrongly. He's going something like 'let me cook in your place, that you need not exert effort or risk injury my queen-'


	23. Chapter 17 - Justify Love With War

Colt was here.  
Again.  
Nita wanted to hit something. Preferably his face. He needed to stop turning up before she lost her temper just from seeing his face and kicked him to tomorrow. It was not that she hated him, but they were on less than pleasant terms, even considering the make up talk they had. Now they both knew a little too much about each other, which just made it awkward and terribly, terribly infuriating. The worst part was that Nita knew he was here to bring her to Pam's. Which, in her opinion, was the worst thing ever. She let him steer him to the house anyway. Now that she was prepared, and there was Leon there as a middle man, it should be alright. Besides, she had sort of made up with Jessie.  
The forge was silent today. She stepped into the already opened door, breathing shallowly to avoid getting too much of the horrible smell in. The house carried the same smell as always- burnt wood and baking bread. No one was in sight.  
"Nita! You're here!" Jessie squealed, throwing her arms around Nita in a tight hug of greeting. Her smile was tight and brittle, not that Jessie could see it, although it made Nita genuinely happy that Jessie still loved her. It was nice to be h- in Jessie's embrace. Nita shook her head in annoyance. She needed to stop thinking of all that stuff. Leon greeted her as well, with a simple smile. Nothing like Jessie. Then again, they were not that close yet.  
"Welcome back, Kit!" Pam called. Nita shivered at the nickname. Kit was one of the worse nicknames ever. She watched Pam stride into view, the tears falling down her cheeks as she screamed in fury, raising her arm and- smiled at her. The smile looked genuine, but there was a certain pain in her eyes Nita had never seen before. It reminded her of the absolute anguish and raw pain Pam had displayed as she was- guiding Leon to tell table. Pam let out a hearty laugh, eyes sliding to meet Nita's own gaze.  
"Hey. Do you mind if we...talked?" Pam asked briskly, from right beside her. Nita jerked back in alarm. When had she gotten here? She shook her head wildly, breathing picking up with fear and panic. She didn't want to be near Pam, let alone talk to her!  
"Please." Pam murmured huskily. Her eyes were shadowed by pain and hurt, and it was the raw sorrow that danced in her eyes that made Nita pause. Every instinct screamed at her to refuse, but something clicked in her, looking at the grief Pam was feeling. She chewed on her bottom lip, unwilling to accept yet unable to refuse. She could remember Pam chasing Jessie and her in silly game of hide and seek, and Pam soothing her after a nightmare, and Pam giving her a goodnight kiss, and Pam...Pam always being there.  
She nodded, a stiff, short movement. She made a gesture along the lines of later, and Pam readily agreed. Nita pulled herself to the table, stomach rolling with fear and anticipation. She hated herself for saying yes so, very much. Why had she agreed? Pam could suffer for all she cared. In fact, it would be fitting considering what she had done. Now she would have to go through a stupid conversation with Pam Junker. She poked and prodded at her breakfast, taking her sweet time to finish the bread, but it still disappeared all too soon. Jessie was currently showing Leon all the cool stuff they had in the forge, and Leon seemed fascinated by it. Well, that was one less thing to worry about.  
Pam led her to a room, plopping down on a chair and inviting Nita to sit down too. Nita sat stiffly in the same chair she always chose when she came here. It was pretty much her chair by now. Silence reigned for a long time, Nita unwilling to start the conversation, and Pam obviously unsure of how to do so.  
"How have things been?" Pam finally asked gruffly. Nita shrugged, a quick movement of her shoulders, and rolled her head from one side to the other. Bad. There was nothing to say to that, and silence returned, stretching every second to an eternity.  
"Oh, this is going nowhere." Pam sighed. "You know that time. I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper, and take it on you the way I did. For what it's worth..." Pam trailed off. Nita had started to relax, and instantly stiffened again. The images flashed through her head- Pam screaming, Pam crying, Pam with a knife, Pam as she stabbed the floor over and over and over and over-  
The pain-  
The fear-  
The blood-  
The wet, scratchy sound that was supposed to be a scream-  
The sheriff bursting in and Pam screaming sobbing crying-  
Jessie's still, pale body-  
Poco playing shouting hysteric-  
The numbness that kept spreading-  
The darkness creeping in-  
The blurred vision that kept getting worse-  
The absolute pain and anguish of losing family-  
"I'm sorry," Pam whispered. Her eyes were sad and pained, and she looked like she wanted to hug Nita. She made no move, though, staying in place. Nita felt hot and cold all at once. She could not get quite enough air, and her eyes burned. She never wanted a hug more in her life, but the terror she felt of Pam was equal to the day itself. She just wanted out, and away from this healer. She was not loving, or kind, or welcoming. She was a terrifying beast from nightmares and darkness who would rip you apart. Nita lurched to her feet, and for a moment Pam's face brightened with hope. Then Nita backed away as fast as she could, and the hope crumbled into despair.  
"Please. I just want you home," Pam pleaded, voice breaking on the last part. Nita shook her head, trembling and staying as far away as possible, while remaining close to the exit. Pam looked just like Jessie right now, the broken hope and desperate plea etched into every line of her face, the tears falling freely. The worst part was that they shared the same round face, and the same brilliant red hair. Pam was just taller and bulkier, and wore different clothes. Otherwise she was Jessie, the same look on her face as she asked Nita if they were still friends. Of course Pam was asking something totally different, but the same feeling was there.  
But how could she ever say yes? Jessie had done no wrong, but Pam...  
Maybe it all started from her mistake. Maybe it all went back to being her fault. Still, Nita could not forget, could not forgive what Pam had done. She knew Jessie was Pam's child, but wasn't she too? How could Pam mourn so deeply over one, and blame so fervently the other? Granted, it was her fault, but Pam didn't have to react the way she did. She could have screamed at Nita. She could have blamed Nita. She could have hit Nita. That was all fine. It was expected. It would be normal.  
Nita stared ahead at Pam fuzzily. For a moment, she was not in that room anymore. She was in the main room, right beside the forge, and Pam maintained her position- hunched over herself. Except she was not, because Jessie was in her arms- pale, dead Jessie- and Pam was hunched over her. Nita gasped, shaking herself, struggling to get out of the flashback, stumbling backwards into the wall. Pam shouted something, approaching her quickly, and it was not just rage that was in her eyes.  
"You killed her! You killed my Jessie!" She shrilled, voice full of pain and hurt. She fell to her knees after only a few steps, sobbing miserably as she hugged Jessie close. Nita could feel nothing but the roaring hurt, tearing her apart and screaming at her how it was all her fault. She stumbled forward to hug Pam and Jessie, the need to comfort and for comfort pushing her forth. Pam gasped at the contact, pushing Nita away.  
"Don't you dare! I'll show you what happens if you don't!" Pam shouted, snatching up the nearest tool up to prove her point. Nita sobbed, moving closer anyway.  
"D-d-don't! You....you....you are a m-monster, that's what you a-are!" Pam sobbed, pausing to gasp for air in between, and choking on her own words to produce a stutter. Nita's heart twisted at the sight, and she lunged forward to hug Pam again. This time Pam still pushed her away, only to carefully lay down Jessie on the floor. She was crying uncontrollably, and when Nita staggered forward again, made no objection but raise one of her arms. It looked so much like Pam welcoming a hug that Nita didn't question it, moving forward, longing for comfort that never came.  
"Step away! You little backstabber!" Pam shrilled, and Nita found herself face to face with a knife. Pam stumbled to her feet, glaring at her through her tears, and Nita found herself returning a look through her tears too. Pam didn't stand up straight, but there was a definite angry stance to her. An air, in other words.  
"I'm disappointed in you," Pam hissed, unmistakable venom in her voice. She lunged at her, and Nita didn't react, too surprised to do much. Of course she was bowled over. Pam raised the knife, screaming something, but the only thing that knife found was the floor, over and over again. Then Nita screamed as the first burst of pain registered, finding the knife buried in her arm. She screamed again as Pam glared down at her, fury in her eyes as she brought the knife down again. The anger clashed painfully with the grief and hurt still present in Pam, and the tears still pouring down her face.  
"M-mama, stop, STOP!!" Nita cried, the fear finally over taking her sorrow. She screamed and pleaded for her Mama to stop, just stop, sobbing apologises. Then the knife sliced right under her line of vision, and pain exploded in her throat. Her next scream was a scratchy, wet noise that made the pain flare up. Nita gasped and sobbed, her voice now useless, body going numb, vision slowly blurring. Then the door burst open. Colt was shouting, and Pam just let the knife fall, suddenly scooping her up in a tight embrace. She was spewing apologises, and there was a frightened, wild look to her as she screamed for Nita not to die, not to leave her.  
People were forcing Pam away, and Poco was playing his guitar. She felt a cool surge of relief, but remained numb. Now her vision was blurring too fast to really see what was going on, and even as she felt Poco play over and over, she knew there were too many holes, it wasn't going to be enough-  
"Stoue!!" Nita shouted. She gasped for breath, trying to get the last few images out of her head, to stop herself from ever visiting that time again. Her fingers involuntarily found her throat, covering it as if it offered protection. She could feel the scar pressed against her hand, but it helped reassure and ground her. That was right, she had the scar, so she had to be recovered and well, not still going through...that. Pam was hovering nearby, wanting to help but wisely staying back.  
"Darne. Nou." Nita growled. Pam hesitated, but eventually nodded, stepping out with one last backward glance. Nita instantly slid to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself in a semblance of comfort. She wished she had enough magic to summon Big Baby Bear. He would know how to comfort her, much better than Pam could ever do. Right now, Pam would make everything worse. As in, much worse than she normally would. Nita shivered, curled up in a ball on the ground.  
"Nita?" Leon called.  
"Nita!" Jessie echoed. In response, Nita pressed herself further into the corner, hoping she was still small enough to stay hidden in the blindspot she was in. She did not want to talk about anything, and she especially did not want to talk right now. She just wanted to hide away, and never come back out, and never, ever see Pam Junker again. Back then it was frightening to see Pam because all she could remember was that time. Now it was frightening to see Pam because she would still remember that time, and because now she knew how much it hurt Pam for herself to be afraid of her. Now she knew that Pam mourned over her loss just as much as she had with Jessie, and knowing that Pam would have done the same to Jessie had their roles been reversed was terrifying. Pam would have killed Jessie, sweet, innocent Jessie, her real daughter, over accidentally killing Nita. Nita understood that now. Somehow, that made it impossible to just think of Pam as a monster, because now she knew Pam had truly been blinded by grief.  
"Ma'am," Leon started, but was interrupted by Pam laughing. "Oh, call me Pam, you'll make me feel old!"  
"Um, Pam, do you know where Nita is?" Leon asked. Nita assumed Pam had either nodded or shook her head, there was no answer. Nita thought Leon might have left, when he suddenly spoke again.  
"...are you alright? You're crying..." Leon sounded concerned. She looked up quickly, checking around, but could not see anyone. How had he known...? Oh. Pam. Pam was crying. She could hear someone else sniffling, but it sounded muffled, as if Pam was trying to control herself.  
"I just miss her so much. Nita. We used to live here together, one family, and she used to call me Mama, you know. And I messed up, I made her scared of me, and...and now I'm making you concerned over nothing. Don't worry about it too much," Pam sighed. Nita ground her teeth together hearing the admission. Pam just had to tell Leon, and now he was going to bug her about it.  
"I'm sure it can't be that bad! Nita is really forgiving and nice. She'll come back, I'm sure of it!" Leon declared. Pam chuckled lowly at the statement. Nita was sure she was looking at Leon with soft, hopeful eyes when she replied, "sure she will, kid." It sounded kind of sad and broken and wrong, but surely nothing had to be wrong, because Leon wandered off. Pam quietly stepped into the room, making Nita tense up instantly, but she seemed to have forgotten Nita was in here. Pam sat heavily on her chair, thankfully facing away from where Nita was. Nita carefully did not look at Pam's face when she quietly sneaked out. She did not want to see it.  
Sometimes ignorance was more than bliss. It was protection.  
She slipped into another blind spot, curling up there. This one offered no better sight than the last one, so Nita just lay on her side in a tangle of limbs, staring blankly ahead at the darkness. When she shifted slightly, it made her limbs seize up with a pin and needle sensation, so she just stopped moving. Leon and Jessie were still calling for her. Then Pam was calling her for lunch. Thereafter Colt was calling for her. She ignored them all. There was a lot of people talking, and the number seemed to be growing, until there was a ruckus. A whole lot of people were shouting, and the gist of it seemed to be about how she managed to run away again.  
"Nita. I know you're here...you know I can't fit in there too..." Someone whispered. Nita barely reacted. There was a pause, then someone poked her. "I can see you, you know. And I know this place as well as you do," the voice persisted. Nita sighed, acknowledging Jessie's presence. She shifted slightly, grimacing at the way her limbs seized up, but managed to rotate herself into a more upright position. Jessie wriggled her way in, and now they were sitting in a curled up position, side by side. It was not the most comfortable of positions, and back then, they would only venture here for the most private of talks that no ears should hear besides theirs. It started as a small tunnel in Jessie's room, barely big enough to fit them. If you wriggled through it it would open up, though, and end up as a small little cave. It actually continued onward, but they could not see the end of it with Jessie's roller flashlight, so they decided it was best not to try going in.  
"What's wrong?" Jessie whispered. There was only one reason why they would be here, after all. It was the one undiscovered and unreachable place in Pam's house. So far, it had been kept a secret, and who could fit in besides a child? Besides one of Jessie's quirky little gadgets, of course. Nita had came here to hide from Pam, and hopefully everyone else. Unfortunately, Jessie found her. Maybe she had sort of hoped she would be found. She dearly wanted to tell Jessie what was wrong, but how could she? As far as Jessie was concerned, Nita had killed her, accidentally wounded herself, but would one day regain her voice once she could control her bear instincts.  
"Thierred," Nita lied, but Jessie accepted it. She gently pulled Nita's head closer, and Nita let her head drop to Jessie's shoulder. The day had really made her tired. It was an uncomfortable position, squashed into the little cave, but Nita found her eyes dropping close. Jessie gingerly tilted her head to lie on Nita's, and Nita decided that she might as well sleep if Jessie was going to. Her low, comforting croon rumbled deep in her chest, filling the small space with a familiar, repetitive sound. Nita knew she really should not be falling asleep here, but lately logic had won a little too much. This time instinct won, directing her to restore her energy and to keep Jessie close and safe. She could deal with the consequences later. At least, that was what she told herself so that she could find peace to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you found this chapter terribly confusing...I'm sorry to say good luck. The plot isn't terribly complicated, so this is as close as it gets to being laid out nicely. We're finally here, though! We're finally on the same page on the backstory Running Wild was built on. Honestly, I didn't have a plot at first, I just wanted to write a fanfic so I could read it, because I couldn't find any that was actively updating. The plot just came as I wrote, and as I started linking stuff and explaining things I just got a plot, so it might not link too well with the first few chapters, haha.  
> And I'm not going to italicise the flashbacks for you...I don't even know where they start and end, how could I? Haha, good luck, just read it 50 more times :)  
> Anyway, we got something like 8 more chapters to go. There's officially going to be another extra chapter, of Bo having a temper tantrum, I guess? I mean, that was the idea, but it didn't really happen, haha. It'll be chapter 4.5(so it'll be in front, anddddd it contains spoilers, lol)


	24. Chapter 18 - Best Foot Forward

"Oi. Wake up!" Shelly snapped. It was a brisk demand that ordered Nita to drag herself out of bed immediately or face the consequences. It was the exact opposite of her previous experience. Jessie had roused her gently, although with some urgency. Both had slept way beyond what they had thought they would, and the village was in an uproar. Unfortunately, the position had left their limbs numb and unresponsive, and they were too scared to call for help, lest their secret place was exposed. Jessie had painstakingly, slowly inched out, then Nita had done the same. It was painful and required a lot of willpower, but they achieved it under an hour. More than one person had demanded to know where they had been; more than one person had a dramatic response knowing they were alive and well.  
"I said, wake _up_!" Shelly roared. Nita flinched in surprise, and rolled out of bed into a fighting position out of reflex. Shelly grunted in acceptance, jerking her head towards the door. _Move it_ , her body language said, with more than a touch of impatience, and Nita did just that. No doubt, Shelly was in the police force, but that didn't have to mean she was a good person. She would save you, she would help you, she would move mountains for your sake, but she would also shout at you, she would scold you, and she would kill you. Nita rather not irritate Shelly. The tank killer had one of the most unpredictable personalities around. She let herself be pushed to Poco's house, and Shelly instantly collapsed on to the couch.  
"Poco, gimme food..." Shelly whined. Nita made sure her agreement was made known as well. Food made by Poco sounded heavenly right now, especially after Leon's cooking. Not that it was bad, but it was not exactly good, either.  
"You can't keep getting free food from me. You know you're supposed to eat breakfast at home. This is robbery! Daylight robbery!" Poco protested. Shelly just shrugged, flicking a Token to Poco to pacify him. The healer was less than pacified. "I won't stand for this!" he shouted, stamping his foot, and Shelly rolled her eyes. Poco could be overly dramatic at times. Poco was still screaming something about Shelly robbing him, and demanding for her to fight him over it.  
"Fine!" Shelly suddenly snapped. She hefted her gun, glaring at Poco, and Poco lifted his guitar in response. The healer marched out of the door, and Shelly followed. Naturally, Nita followed as well, curious to know the outcome. Shelly had the slightly superior range, but she was a shortgunner. At her longest range, she would barely harm Poco. Poco had the shorter range, but he dealt consistent damage throughout. His wide spread was useful against multiple enemies, and not so much for just one. Nita had no idea who would win in this circumstance, and she was curious. The two of them stood a fair distance away from each other outside the house, and Nita made sure she kept her distance as well. It would not do to get caught up in the battle.  
"Nita, start us off," Shelly ordered. There was absolutely no problem with that, and Nita kept her eyes straight ahead as she nodded. Eye contact was an unfair advantage. She suddenly threw back her head, letting out a roaring sort of howl, and what happened next happened in a flash. Chords shrieked and there was the distinct 'bang' of gunshots as both of them fired their shots at once. Poco dropped to the ground and rolled, springing up to release another shot, and Shelly backed away, obviously intending on using her superior range to her advantage. Or maybe she was just playing safe. There was only a very small gap between their ranges where only Shelly could hit Poco. Just a little closer, and Poco could hit back. Nita watched as the two of them danced around the area, Poco mostly dodging while Shelly tried to maintain the perfect distance. She finally got it, when Poco did not back away enough, only to find that she had not, since Poco attacked back. It was thrilling, watching the two of them going at each other, and it fueled her bloodlust.  
Colt skidded to a halt in between the two of them. He was finally here. He had barely managed to open his mouth when Shelly snarled, "out of the way!", Poco backing her up. Nita hauled him out of the way before the two enraged brawlers could launch an attack on him. They were all generally easy going and carefree, but an enraged brawler was a dangerous brawler. It was like bloodlust, blinding them to all things except their cause of anger. Best to let them fight it out. It would relieve their anger, besides helping to resolve the argument they had. She let out another howl, warning people off from this area. They all should know well enough to steer clear.  
"What happened?" Colt whispered. There was urgency and a certain amount of fear in his voice. It was pretty rare to see brawlers randomly going at each other's throats, after all. Nita just shrugged, but made a calming sort of gesture to him. It was way too complicated for her to explain, but Colt should not worry over it either. There was another clash, and Shelly said more than a couple of swear words. Colt clapped both hands over her ears before she heard more than two, though. It was kind of pointless, considering that she had probably heard everything from here or there. Especially the bar. As a frequent visitor, she had to admit three quarters of her swear vocabulary came from there. It was a coarse place to be in, which was probably why Pam forbade Jessie from entering. Pam had forbade her from going too, but Bull had made no such objections. It was kind of encouraging, going there with Bull, until she earned herself a place in there besides 'Bull's kid'.  
_**BANG**_! Nita jumped at the huge bang, jerking back to reality. Poco was struggling to move under the effects of Shelly's Star Power, Shell Shock. Meanwhile, Shelly closed in, clearly intending to finish off Poco with a shorter range. Poco started moving normally after a precious 2.5 seconds, and by then Shelly was pretty close. Shelly fired, and Poco let her fire before he did. There was no dodging at such close range, but Poco's Star Power sustained him for a little longer. Each attack he released helped him heal by 500 health, dulling the edge of Shelly's hits. Poco was running away, but Shelly gave chase, wearing down Poco. Just when Nita thought it was over, and Poco would surely lose, he used his Super, restoring enough health for him to last a little longer. It was enough for him to keep going, and now it was him who had the upper hand. Shelly seemed to recognise that, trying to rack up her Super, but Poco was faster. He swiped her legs out from under her in a flash, pinning Shelly down.  
"Poco goes loco!" He crowed, in an almost cute sort of manner. Nita let out another howl, signaling the end of the match, and stepped away. Shelly was grumpily paying Poco a decent sum of Tokens, which made Poco beam smugly. Once the healer had pocketed the Tokens, he ran off, and the sounds of cooking emerged from the house shortly after. Colt was wringing a report out of Shelly, and Nita carefully sneaked away. Here was her chance to get out, considering that Mortis was nowhere in sight. Probably talking with Leon. She sneaked behind the house, creeping away, fully intending on returning to the forest where she could be free.  
"Where are you going?" Nita froze at the statement, but it had a curious tone to it rather than an accusatory one. Leon was standing right behind her, and he cocked his head to one side even as she watched. She had not heard him approach at all. No wonder he called himself a stealthy assassin. Nita thought that she could lie her way out of this, then: "Are you running to the forest?" Leon asked. If she could see his eyes, she was sure he would have blinked right then. She smiled nervously, shaking her head and crossing her fingers. Leon giggled at that, for some reason.  
"Don't be silly. I know you are. Can I come?" Leon smiled. The question utterly floored Nita. Hadn't Leon himself said that the forest was dangerous, and he would never go there? Her mouth gaped open and close repeatedly, but nothing came out. This was such a mess.  
"Oh, I won't tell. Promise," Leon said seriously, putting a hand over his heart. "I'm doing it too, after all. I'll help you hide, and you help protect me. We'll be a great team together. You trust me, don't you?" Nita wasn't sure what to say. She nodded stiffly, unsure how to react to this sudden development. She whipped her head to the side when someone called her name. They were too late. But tomorrow...tomorrow would be a better day, wouldn't it? Oh, she would be watched this time. There was no hope of sneaking out. If they wanted out tomorrow, they would have to fight their way out. But she had Big Baby Bear and a legendary on her side, against another legendary and a mystic. She could do this. She bowled Leon over, allowing a laugh to escape, and tapping his shoulder.  
"Ah ahve a rran," she purred in his ear, then louder, "oou arre it!" She ran from the surprised assassin, then a smile broke out on Leon's face. He rolled to his feet, giving chase. Nita grinned at him, just a touch feral in doing so, suddenly looping back to dive under his grasp before she exited the area. Leon managed to snag her robe anyway, and the two of them tumbled across the hard ground. Nita didn't mind all that much.  
"Discuss later. Let's have a sleepover," Leon murmured, then declared triumphantly, "now you are it!" He slipped from her grasp, running away, and Nita caught Colt smiling at the scene. She rolled onto all fours, springing across the yard with ease. She growled playfully at Leon before she was on him, pinning him down. She grinned at him- he caught on fast. She leaned down to butt her head against his shoulder, and in doing so whispered an agreement to him. Tonight. She would have her partner, and her life in the forest. But for now, there was the mundane life to put up with. She sat down agreeably to a late breakfast, or an early lunch. Either way worked, since food was food.  
Poco insisted on checking up on her after that. She let him have his way, poking and prodding around, until he was satisfied that she was healthy. Poco wanted to ensure she was fine after the exhaustion she had displayed a few days back. And, while he did not explicitly say it, Nita knew that he was checking her over after yesterday. He kept asking her careful, controlled questions to make sure she was not suffering from some sort of mental trauma. It was always good to know you were strong and healthy anyway. Not that Poco told her that. He pointed out that she was still suffering from some level of over-exertion and fatigue, which actually seemed to be getting more severe, cautioning her to take it easy. Leon had no such agreement on knowing his state of health.  
"Get away!" Leon screeched, tension lining his body, hugging the stone under him. He had somehow climbed up the wall of Poco's house, and found purchase. Now he was way out of reach, crouched on a narrow ledge, glowering down at them with perfect balance. He was scared, but not of the precautious position he was in. No, he was scared of Poco and his promise of a check-up. Said healer was just as much of a nervous wreck as Leon was. It seemed as though he was trying to be scared on Leon's behalf.  
"Now, now, just come down," Poco tried to persuade Leon, instantly stopping when Leon shook his head vigourously. He fidgeted in place anxiously, watching Leon carefully in case he fell from shaking his head too hard.  
"Oh, get outta da way," Shelly snorted, pushing Poco to one side. She pointed a finger at Leon threateningly, and barked, "ye get yer butt down here right dis instant or ah'll get it down for ya!" It was all delivered with a fierce glare, and with the other hand resting on her hip. Nita could nearly see the menacing aura radiating off Shelly, and she backed away despite not being the object of Shelly's anger. On the other hand, Leon looked as though he might faint. He had gone almost completely white, an impressive feat considering his natural chesnut skin tone. He was trembling so much and so fast he might as well be vibrating, but he managed to shake his head above all that.  
Shelly blew her top.  
"Why ya little!" She howled, taking exactly three steps back. Then she ran forward, pushing off the wall to reach a greater height. She grabbed Leon, who squeaked, and the two of them fell back to the ground. Nita didn't miss the fact that it was Shelly who connected with the floor first. Leon scrambled off Shelly relatively unharmed, leaving Shelly to lie on the floor. She let out a groan, unmoving aside from that. Poco was instantly at her side, scolding her for her recklessness even as he demanded for her to answer his questions on where it hurt. Leon crept towards the wall again. Nita calmly pulled him towards her using a fistful of his jacket.  
"Wherr arre oou ouing?" She asked sweetly, throwing an arm around his shoulders. It anchored him firmly to the spot while Poco took care of Shelly, then came for him. She employed a technique learnt from Colt and Rico, hooking her arms under Leon's, holding him in place. Poco repeatedly tried to get Leon to calm down, but there was no effect.  
"Go away..." Leon wailed for the thousandth time, and Poco soothed him for the thousandth time as well, coaxing him to relax. Poco finally pulled away from inspecting Leon's heartbeat, and Nita obligingly released him. Leon instantly darted away, and Poco did not give chase.  
"Nita. You are going to be with Leon, right?" Poco blurted. Nita shrugged. She should be, unless plans changed. The healer shifted his gaze away, fiddling with his tie. Nita knew that look well. She nudged him, tilting her head to the side invitingly with a small smile. That was all it took.  
"Leon seems a bit weak, after so long. I thought that with such a high magic store, he might have been healthier. But he's not. He's so fragile. His state is getting worse and worse, not better," Poco explained. "I was hoping you could look out for him. If he gets injured, no matter how mild, he could possibly die. And even normal, dirty places, we all stay fine, but he would probably fall ill. So, could you...?" Poco trailed off. Nita hesitated. That was no easy feat, keeping him safe and clean. Still, he was getting worse and worse, wasn't he? Just as she was. Surely that meant... She nodded, just once. Instantly, Poco sagged with relief.  
"Thank you," he breathed. A small, slightly sad, smile flitted across his face, and then was quickly replaced by his usual bright grin. He ran off, presumably to get his instrument. Nita slinked off to find Leon, gently coaxing him out. She crooned at him, rubbing soothing circles on his shoulder, and Leon finally crawled out of a hole he had wedged himself into. She switched to rubbing circles on his back instead, and Leon attached himself to her. At such close proximity, she could feel that he was thinner than most other brawlers. Maybe that was why he was so frail. She supposed that losing a huge portion of your magic without said magic having stabilised yet and entering a long sleep would do that to you.  
"Rruight," she crooned to him.  
"Tonight," he agreed. "I'll ask Colt." He added shakily. That was a pleasant surprise. At least now the sheriff would not suspect her of plotting something that involved Leon. Maybe. Probably. The assassin did not move, though, so the two of them just sat there, Nita comforting Leon. He was really growing on her, the easy trust and quiet dependence he had in her causing her to rise to his expectations. He really was like Jessie, just in a different body and with a slightly different personality. She was almost disappointed when he uncurled from hugging her. He walked out of the room, and she followed. He walked straight up to Shelly, giving Nita another surprise. She thought he was terrified of her.  
"I want to talk to Colt. Please." Leon said quietly. There was a tremor to his voice.  
"Fer what?" Shelly grumbled.  
"...please," Leon whispered. Shelly had to crane her head forward to catch what Leon said. Then she shrugged, crossing the room to the window. She poked her head out. She took a deep breath. She cupped her hands near her mouth. Nita covered her ears.  
"COLLLLLTT!!" Shelly hollered. Leon flinched at the first sound, clapping his hands over his ears to reduce the amount of sound he could hear. Nita winced. She had forgotten to warn him. Even with her ears safely covered, her sensitive ears were sore and throbbing by the end of it. Shelly waited for a few moments, then took another deep breath. Nita spotted Colt running closer, but Shelly didn't, letting out another shout for Colt. The sheriff covered his ears mid-run, tripping over his own feet to land in a heap somewhere in front of Poco's house. Before anyone could say anything, Colt raised a hand.  
"If I were not deaf before, I am now. Stop yelling for me," he groaned. Shelly shrugged unapologetically, pointing at Leon.  
"Kid wants to talk to you." Shelly grumbled. She ignored Leon indignantly squawking, "I am not a kid!" in the background. Colt achieved a similar state, completely glossing over the fact that Leon was saying anything at all. He clambered to his feet, grumbling something under his breath. Nita didn't, patting Leon's arm. She knew how it felt to be called a kid when clearly, she was not one.  
"Alright then, what do you want?" Leon might have blinked, the temporary outrage instantly replaced by his previous apprehension. He ducked his head despite the fact that there was no eye contact to be broken, stuttering multiple times on false starts before he seemed to find the right sentence.  
"Tonight, do you think I can sleep on, I mean over!! Over on, wait, at, at! With Nita," Leon blundered his way through the sentence. He paused, then, as if there was a need for clarification, added, "like a sleep under! I mean over. Sleepover. For fun." The broken, nonsensical statements just made it worse. Colt got the idea, though. He sent Nita a sharp look, analysing her stare for any part she might have played in this.  
"Fun," Colt repeated slowly, and Leon nodded eagerly. Nita smiled as brightly and innocently as she could at Colt, held it for three seconds, then dissolved into her usual smirk. She might have possibly made Colt doubtful and suspicious, but that was alright. Him knowing she was up to something was better than him not knowing she was up to something and being extra vigilant.  
"I suppose. Just for tonight," Colt relented. 'I'll be watching you', his stare said, directed at Nita. She shrugged in reply, raising her chin slightly in challenge. What could he do?  
Nothing, that was what. Two children could only possibly sleep curled together, plotting, planning, scheming in the dead of night, undetected, uncaught and safe.  
They could not afford not to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! We're finally back! This chapter used to make me cringe, but it got fixed, so I guess it's ok now.  
> And I just realised, but Leon and Nita are siblings??? There's no way I can squeeze that in, haha. Still, that's interesting.  
> Shelly is officially one of my favourite people to write, especially now that I'm developing her character a little more for the next fic. The speech, the volatile personality....I love it. Fight me.


	25. Chapter 19 - Step and Trace

She was being watched. She knew that. She knew that, and that was why it wouldn't be easy. It made everything more thrilling, more exciting, and kept her on her toes. Only the best player here would win. Colt had still allowed the rotation with Tara and Spike, at Tara's house, which was frankly asking for trouble and they all knew it. Currently, they were explaining trades to Leon, as well as anyone could in their circumstance anyway. Tara simply didn't speak much, a silent but dignified and much respected figure. She was regal and graceful, and her silence was a huge part of that. Spike, on the other hand, seemed to convert much of his energy and enthusiasm to action and to his beloved plants, rather than to people. Naturally, Leon couldn't be the one talking when he was the one being taught, and she obviously was not suited to talking, so Nita wasn't sure why Colt had decided to give a team like that a job like that. It was not very fitting or suitable, and she had the impression that Colt always planned something suitable. If he thought they could fun with a game of guessing or charades, then he was dead wrong.  
"Werk," Nita explained, frowning. "...nart werk. Ood werk?"  
"Good work? Like, doing good, helping others, charity?" Leon guessed, then looked at a loss when they all shook their heads.  
"Werk oou iker. Enoy?" Nita tried. Leon paused, lips moving as he tried to understand what she had just said.  
"...work you like. So, doing something you like?" He finally asked. All three of them nodded eagerly. His mouth formed a 'o' shape. It was not much of a surprise that the next thing that happened was the "oh" he produced.  
"So what do you do?" He asked eagerly. Nita sighed as they went through another round of question and answer to get the idea across. It was frustrating and near impossible, especially because neither Tara or Spike contributed. Tara had said that it was because Colt wanted Leon to be able to understand Nita better, and practice made perfect, but she had a growing suspicion that Big Baby Bear backed up. This was taking a ridiculously long amount of time. Time that she could not escape from, and time she wasted. Time that she was suspecting Colt intended for her to waste, knowing full well that she would not be able to communicate properly. If she was right, then he was the better player here, planning and implementing a strategy even before the day had started to keep her occupied.  
"Barley. He runs the bar, right?" Leon asked. Nita nodded eagerly, making a circular motion to indicate the next person. Leon frowned, slowly mumbling names and trying to find the next person. Nita sighed. This was taking too long, and she definitely could do nothing but teach because the police duo was watching her closely. If this was a set up, it was a thorough and good one. She contended with thinking on how to get her idea to Leon for now. It seemed impossible, considering Spike never strayed further than two arm lengths away. He had the higher damage output compared to Tara, and he knew it. He would have linked his magic to Tara as a team so he wouldn't hurt her, and probably to Leon, but not her. Nita blinked. She went through the same train of thoughts, searching for errors.  
She had her way out.  
Lunch rolled by. Nita chomped her way through. It was not like being hungry was a crime, and she kicked Leon under the table to make him speed up as well. He finished relatively fast, and she dragged him away before anyone could protest. Play and fun was the essence of childhood. And under the technical terms they lived by, the both of them were still children. Spike followed them, of course, carrying his plate along so that he could keep what counted as his eye on them. Or specifically, her. It didn't matter. They played just like they did yesterday and playing could not be classified as a criminal record. The only game that was a crime was the stupid guessing game she had going with Leon that was pretty much imposed on her. Colt had no sense of fun. At all. At least they covered more or less everyone, even if Leon forgot everything by the time he guessed the next trade. He would get it. Maybe.  
Dinner. Everything was banking on Leon. She hated having to depend on him, but she could not do much herself. She gulped down the last mouth, barely tasting it, then she bolted. The police duo were instantly on her, keeping pace with distance so she couldn't hit them. That wasn't important. What was important was Leon was completely forgotten, and he had Spike out before he even realised what was happening. Tara seemed to realise something was wrong from how Spike stopped shooting, but considering Spike and Tara were side by side, Leon was now right beside Tara. Damage wise, he easily overpowered her. Nita grabbed his hand, yanking him out of the house as fast as possible. They had 15 seconds to get as far away as they could. She pulled Leon towards the exit, towards freedom and the forest. The forest. It called, a screaming lullaby, clawing at her to get her back into it's embrace. No one understood. It was not about wrong pronunciations, or bear instincts, or the bloodlust that had made her hurt so many people. No, it was not about any of that. Those were insignificant, unimportant problems in comparison. She had a problem, and it was more than a little one.  
It was the call. The forest was etched into every inch of her, and it pulled relentlessly at her, screaming, shouting, wailing, pleading for her. It was always the same phrase. Come home. Come home, Nita. It was high and low, eerie and soothing. It was the most contradicting mess she had ever heard, and it was also the best and most beautiful.  
And she couldn't resist the call. Every time she heard it she was filled with a longing like no other, and it drove her crazy not to answer. Every time she was forced to ignore it made her more desperate, and it made her weaker too. But no one understood the forest sickness as what it was. No one understood her explanation. No one understood. Right now, there was only one person who understood her, and that was a person suffering from forest sickness, and running away with her.  
Leon tugged her through the door impatiently. It jerked her forward. Leon didn't seem to notice how much strength he was putting into a tug. Or maybe he was just getting stronger. Nita grinned as she ran after him. The forest crooned, singing a jubilant and melodious song calling her home, and she could only respond. The ground under her feet trembled, as if shaken by the strength of the call from the forest. The sun was behind her, and a shadow loomed over the two of them, casting them into shadow. This gave her some pause, and she glanced over her shoulder, wondering how the clouds blocked such a perfect patch of sun. The sky was clear and cloudless. There was only a figure looming over the two of them as it bore down. She screeched and threw Leon out of the way, and immediately after she was tackled in a hug. She was wrapped in an inescapable embrace, not that she wanted off at such high speeds, as they charged forward. It suddenly ended.  
"Durnt dou thart, Ruu..." She groaned. She had been subject to a wild ride like this before, and afterwards she had gotten her familiar to smack the offender and demanded that he never do such a thing again. Bull hadn't seemed to care too much, but had nevertheless refrained from ever scooping her up mid-Super again. Until now. Bull snorted in reply, starting to walk back the way he came. She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. It was not like she was against being carried, and it was not like she could get out. Her thoughts suddenly caught up with her, and a question popped into existence. What was Bull doing here?  
"Ruu?" Nita frowned, craning her neck to look him in the eye. He met her gaze briefly, shaking his head slightly. Keep silent, keep still, don't resist. Nita twisted as much as could, but couldn't look behind her. She stared ahead desperately as Leon found his feet, running after Bull.  
"No!" She snarled, shaking her head at him. She bared her teeth, glaring at him. Leon was weak, and getting weaker. She bet Pam and Poco knew, but they were keeping quiet about it. But she knew too, and she would not allow it to happen. Leon wasn't just getting weaker. He wasn't just frail from his rough arrival.  
He was dying.  
Maybe he was dying slower than before, but he was still dying. Day by day, hour by hour, breath by breath. Every second something wilted away in him, never to be replaced. And they could fix it, she knew they could, if only Colt would stop interfering and sentencing them to certain death. Leon was breathing faster now. He was slowing down in his run, but still running as fast as he could.  
"Nita," he blurted. Nita shook her head. "No," she repeated, but he didn't seem to hear. Or maybe he didn't care. Bull kept walking steadily, and Nita knew it was because Leon was already following them, and there was no need to scoop him up. Leon grabbed onto Bull's jacket, stumbling to a halt and fighting to breathe. Bull obligingly stopped for a moment, patiently waiting for the assassin. Nita watched with horror as Leon coughed and gasped, trying too hard to get air to be normal. It shouldn't be this hard to do something so basic. It couldn't be.  
"Doin' bettah?" Bull asked after a long moment, where Leon seemed to get his breathing under control. Leon shook his head, so they just kept waiting. Nita tried to kick Bull into letting her go in that time, but she knew it was futile. Bull was a heavyweight, and heavyweights were strong. The only reason their ribbing could happen was because he humoured her and pulled in his punches. Right here, right now, Bull completely ignored anything she threw at him, only letting out a sigh.  
"Let...Nita go...please," Leon panted. Nita frowned. He should have recovered a long time ago. Was he dying faster than ever before?  
"No can do," Bull shrugged, beginning to walk again. Leon stuffed his hands into his hoodie's pockets, pulling out a lollipop and tossing it into the air, catching it with his mouth on it's descent. He grinned around the lollipop in his mouth, an open mouthed one-sided smile as he put his hand back into the pocket.  
"That wasn't a request. Let Nita go," Leon said, any breathing difficulties gone. Bull frowned as he turned to face the assassin, about to tell him what exactly he could do with that demand of his, when Leon tiptoed to push his face closer to Bull's.  
"Boo," Leon grinned, and the blades he held in his hands glinted. His smile widened, and Bull seemed slightly taken aback as Leon sang, "sur~prise!" Then Leon launched his assault. Bull did look surprised. Maybe because Leon decided to attack. Maybe because Leon was acting slightly tipsy. But Nita thought it was because Leon took Bull down. She landed on her feet, staring at the residue puddle of Bull on the ground. Several someones shouted, and the police force ran towards them. She grabbed Leon's hand and ran. He ran after her, but he was struggling to keep up. Then he was falling behind. Then he tripped, fell, and couldn't get back up. Nita pulled him onto her back and ran. He hung on for all he was worth, but she couldn't run as well carrying him or as fast. She really, really tried, the forest screaming for her to return home and to run.  
Something connected with her. She couldn't seem to get anything to work anymore. She stumbled. She tripped. She fell. Her head was ringing and kind of fuzzy. Someone was carrying her now. She struggled to get out, but whoever it was kept a grip on her. Come home. Come home! The forest screeched in terror. We need you, and you need us!  
Nita tried, she really did. However, as luck would have it, El Primo proved to be performing well on the job for once. She could not get away from him. Leon was trapped as well. Shelly was carrying him, him being light and weak enough such that anyone could probably lift him, even Jessie. She watched Leon struggle pathetically, and put renewed effort into getting out. No such thing happened. They were heading to the village, away from the forest, and the song of the forest tore her heart into more than two pieces. It was sad and still beautiful, a never-ending cascade of emotion and pain.  
"Let us go! You'll kill us, you'll kill us both!" Leon shouted, with more than a touch of hysteria. Colt tried to soothe the distressed assassin, but Leon just screamed the same phrase into Colt's face. Tears ran down his cheeks, having no clear origin, but nevertheless a clear indicator of Leon's distress. Maybe he was caught up in the forest song and the sorrow and loss in it. Colt gave up trying to calm him down, and switched to soothing her. Nita didn't understand why he was doing that, when she suddenly became aware of the fact that she was crying too. The tears ran hot and fast, carrying the pain deep within her away to another place, and still kept forming.  
"No," she said, shaking her head, staring at Colt pleadingly. "No," she repeated. He smiled sadly. His touch was gentle when he wiped away her tears, but he would not budge on his stand.  
"You'll get hurt out there," he replied. Nita screamed in frustration, echoing Leon, "oou eare krool us, krool us bothe!!" Colt winced at the increase in volume, then turned and left, seeing his efforts were futile. Nita trashed and flailed, trying to wriggle out of El Primo's grasp, but he held on stoutly. Leon let out a thin and reedy wail, piercing through the cold air, high and eerie. It sent shivers of fear down her spine, and she couldn't help herself as she threw back her head and howled. It was loud and strong, completely unlike Leon's, but it carried the same haunting tone, rising and falling periodically. More and more joined in on the clash of sounds, the forest calling in every possible way. Nita trembled in the face of such a sound, but she couldn't stop.  
Leon's wail died out, and as if released from a spell, one by one, everything went silent.  
Nita didn't look up, keeping her eyes down at her robe. She didn't need to look up. She didn't want to. She knew what she would see if she did. She just kept staring at her robe as the whole party moved back. A certain heaviness coiled itself around her chest and squeezed, making it hard to breathe. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Nothing but the throbbing headache making itself known, pulsing gently in time with her heartbeat.  
One...  
Two...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dang it Tara only says 'mm' my headcanon-  
> If you don't know what Nita would have seen if she looked up, I'll tell you here. She would have seen Leon knocked out, which made him stop in the first place. She doesn't want to look, because at least she can stay in her little bubble of denial this way, and she doesn't know how to cope if she loses all hope. Also, Nita is not objecting to being carried because she thinks that Bull means safety, and that she'll be fine with him even if they leave the forest. She only realises she's being forced to leave the forest a little later, and tries to get Leon to get to the forest even without her. Obviously he's not listening.  
> And oops. I guess we came out of a cliffhanger-hiatus only to jump straight back into one ;)


	26. Chapter 20 - A Whole New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realised we're hitting 50 kudos and 861 hits and 70 comments-  
> I'm so touched. So, so touched. Thanks so much for supporting this, guys!!><

There was something wriggling in the corner of her vision. It looked like a fat, big, and short green caterpillar. But when Nita turned to look better at it, she found that it was not a caterpillar. She stared at it, the wriggling hypothetic. Then the not-caterpillar wriggled it's way into staring at her, and all movement ceased. With the lack of movement, she found her brain catching up, and correctly labelling what she was seeing as Leon. Not the happiest or most mobile Leon, but Leon nonetheless. A wide band of cloth circled around both his torso and the bed, leaving the only movement available to him wriggling.  
"Nita...? How are you feeling?" Leon whispered. Nita tried to form a response, but she felt slow and sluggish. Tired. She wanted to say something, but any thought that she formed slipped out of her head as quickly as it had appeared. _Cold_ , she wanted to say, but only managed to produce a shiver. She opened her mouth, but the cough that emerged interrupted whatever she had hoped to say, and scattered all her thoughts as her body shook in the coughing fit that followed. _Water_ , she wanted to say, but the only thing that came out was a dry, rasping noise. It was all too easy to flash back to that time, waking up into Poco's house and not being able to talk.  
"Poco!" Leon shouted, and this randomness managed to confuse her long enough to convince herself of the right time she was in. Now her head hurt from the loud sound, though. She coughed again, and started to sit up to ease the coughing. The sudden movement sent pain exploding in her head, and she could have sworn she saw stars. The next thing she was aware of was that Poco was supporting her to sit, and her head rested on his shoulder. He pressed something cold against her lips, and sweet water trickled into her mouth. She swallowed, wincing at the pain in her throat each swallow brought, and wetting her lips. She pulled away after a moment, but Poco coaxed her to take one last mouth, and she gave in after a short battle. She was too weak to do much else. He looked worried when he checked her condition again, and she knew she was getting worse. Or at least, not getting better. He relayed the news to the insistent Leon, but Nita didn't hear anything. She wasn't really concentrating on trying to eavesdrop.  
"I told you, it's not going to get better. You have to let her go to the forest, or she'll die. Please, Poco, you have to," Leon pleaded, voice louder with desperation.  
"I believe you," Poco replied. He sounded tired. "But I can't do anything."  
"You have to!" Leon snapped, and Nita winced, letting out a small noise of pain. Leon immediately apologised in a softer voice, Poco shushing him all the way. Everything hurt. Even if she wanted to run off to the forest, she couldn't. Her fate rested in someone else's hands, and they were apparently not willing to let go, even if it meant she died. She slipped away from the current world, finding the half-conscious state slightly more comfortable. It made the aches and pains duller, and she could pretend not to feel them.  
"Nita?" Leon whispered, and she managed to pull herself awake. She blinked tiredly at the stone roof above, finding the formation of caves interesting all of a sudden. It boggled her current sluggish mind, how the cave stayed standing without caving in.  
"Nita, I'm going to get you out, alright? I'll get you to the forest, then you'll be better, right?" Leon whispered. Nita slowly turned her head to face Leon, trying to process the idea of getting out. She managed to summon enough strength to lift one finger and tap the bed once. Yes. Leon seemed encouraged by this. He renewed his wriggling, and now all Nita could process was that there was a not-caterpillar wriggling endlessly in a blur of green and some brown and blue. She closed her eyes, the sight enough to give her a migraine. The darkness was comforting, and she gradually relaxed, her pain slipping away as she took a much needed break.  
"...fever.. search for him, I'll ...Nita? Are you with me?" Nita groaned in reply, trying to understand what was going on. There was a ringing in her ears, blocking out certain segments of sound. She blinked several times slowly, then managed to focus her vision. She was no longer lying down. Poco was supporting her in sitting up, and her head rested on his shoulder. She vaguely recalled this position, but she was not sure from where or when. Poco eased something out of her mouth, and Nita was suddenly aware that there had been something in there. It was a metal rod, with little notches in it, and Nita fuzzily remembered that it was used to take temperatures. You put it in your mouth, and took it out after a certain span of time, then based on how hot the rod was, and how far the heat had travelled, you could know whether you had a fever or not, and how bad it was. Poco hissed something she didn't quite catch after a moment, but it didn't sound like something she should learn anyway. She zoned out for a little while, blinking back to reality when Poco said something.  
"Bad. She's burning hot. I don't think she can concentrate on much at this point," Poco murmured. She could feel the vibrations of him talking. She lifted her head sluggishly, and had to blink at least twice before she recognised what she was seeing.  
"Rolt?" Nita asked, confused. She coughed immediately after, and Poco fed her more water. She nested her head back into Poco's shoulder. It was better than using energy to hold herself up. She didn't remember that Colt was there, or that she had wanted to ask why he here. That was why she jerked in surprise when Colt bent down, appearing in her line of vision. Pain exploded in her head, and she registered she was falling. Then someone was moving her. She let out a couple of miserable noises as she was moved from what felt like one bed to another. There was minimal jerking around, and Nita was grateful for that, but didn't see the point of moving.  
"Ah, you're up. We're going to the forest now. Don't panic, okay?" Leon whispered. He slowly slid into sight, and Nita easily recognised him and relaxed. Another face slowly slid into view, and Nita had to check twice before she believed herself. Jessie Junker leaned over her, smiled at her, then disappeared back out of view. Nita was surprised to discover that the bed was right under the window, and now started to rise smoothly. It fit through perfectly, without scraping the sides, sliding through the window without falling down. There was a short pause, then it lowered smoothly. Nita tilted her head to the side, and in a fit of fever induced brilliance, she realised that Leon was still scared of Jessie. He never stood next to her, and always made sure he was far, far away, despite the two of them working together. _How interesting_ , she thought, and immediately after, _what's interesting_? She struggled to remember something, then to remember what she was trying to remember for, and ultimately gave up. The landscape passed by in a blur, or maybe it didn't, and she was just so out of it that she thought it was passing by in a blur. She thought she saw Colt seconds before they broke into a run.  
"Jessie Junker and Leon, you stop right there!" Someone shouted, and she winced. Despite a seeming pick up in speed, the road was still smooth, although there were a number of swerves performed that made her dizzy. She felt like she was floating on air, but could definitely feel something below her. She had a ditzy thought that maybe the bed was floating in the air, and it made her giggle before she crumpled into a coughing fit. It thankfully subsided by itself, but now her throat felt raw and like it was burning, and there was no water. It occurred to her that even if there was water, she probably wouldn't be able to drink it anyway.  
"Leon! Do me a favour. You see that lever? Pull...yes, now put those on. Take over, run, and don't look back. Got it?" Jessie shouted. Nita realised that despite Jessie shouting, she could barely hear her over the background noise that had slowly built up into a roar. No wonder her head was pounding. Jessie leaned over the bed, and smiled at her encouragingly. Then she snapped something and something else snapped into place above her, blocking out the light. Sweet silence descended over her, deafening in the wake of the roar, now muffled and barely noticeable.  
"Stay back! You don't want me to do this!" Jessie shouted, although it sounded distant, more like a whisper in terms of volume.  
"Jessie Junker, don't you dare!! You put that down, right now, young lady! Do you hear me?" Someone else shouted. _Mama_ , her brain provided, instantly followed by the automatic correction of Pam. There was silence, then someone shouted something, only to be cut off by what sounded like an explosion. The explosion ripped through the relative silence she had had, loud even through whatever magical barrier had been erected between her and the outside world. She couldn't be sure, but she thought there might have been a pit stop before she kept moving.  
"Move, move, move!" Jessie shouted, then, "Don't come closer! I'm warning you!" Nita didn't understand what was happening, but that might be because she could see only blackness. The journey stretched on, and all of a sudden her muscles seized up. This was immediately followed by a relaxing of her muscles, and instant calm raced over her. She let go of the world she was in, slipping into another one. It was quiet, calm, peaceful. Nothing to worry about, nothing to make her emotions run wild, nothing but the soft, enchanting lights that filled every inch. It was very pretty, the lights swirling around her in weaving patterns, hypnotising her with their gentle pulsing. Then the world around her shattered into a million million fragments, and a bright red glow seeped into areas that the light couldn't fill. A figure rose from nowhere, and Nita blinked at it curiously. Then the figure whirled around to face her, baring sharp teeth at her as it lunged at her, claws reaching for her as she stumbled back and-  
Light filtered down from above, painted green from the leaves crowding the sky above. It created a soft, dappled glow, a patchwork of green and yellow, illuminating what it touched. It caught on Jessie's hair, highlighting the red fire that fell outside of her hat's shade, and giving the figure an otherworldly glow. Like an angel would have. Jessie smiled sweetly, so sweetly that it could melt the most hardened of hearts and bend the most uncaring person around her little finger.  
"Finally better, Nita?" Jessie asked. She was. Nita didn't understand it, but she felt light and free, thinking finally sharp and clear. She felt indefinitely better, but there was no way that this was real, that the two of them could sit so casually in the forest. Life shouldn't be so perfect, and there should be someone just about to wreck havoc, or something going wrong, or anything that made this not as perfect. This had to be a dream.  
"If you would like to be convinced that this is, in fact, reality, then I can use an argument that I have constructed while you were unconscious and run through five times from different angles and corrected to be virtually perfect in order to make you believe in this current time and space as your reality," Jessie added, all in one breath and without breaking eye contact. This alone was enough for her to believe that this was real. Often, she forgot that under the sweet, naive personality Jessie possessed, there was something more. An intellect, so advanced and thorough that it could obliterate every last one of them and leave no evidence that it had done so despite being the only one still standing. It could manipulate them all to play right in the middle in Jessie's hands, and they would not even know they were doing this. Jessie wasn't _just_ smart.  
Of course, her personality made it too easy to forget that she could be the most dangerous person alive. Jessie rarely flaunted or even showcased her intellect, and every time she did so was an immense surprise. Nita had pretty much forgotten about it, but Jessie showing such an in-depth analysis jolted her back to reality, and reminded her that she had to be careful. If Jessie decided to do something, it was with good reason and for good cause. Jessie never did something just because she 'felt like it'. There was always a careful and immaculate plan driving her forward. The sudden dose of smart Jessie was enough to convince her that this was reality, and she tensed every sense she had available to her, ready for danger.  
"Relax, Nita. I thought you knew by now. I can help others out of the good will of my heart, and I will do so for you. Only you," Jessie sighed, rolling her eyes before the start of her sentence. Nita carefully, and rather forcefully, relaxed her muscles, although her senses were still on high alert. She smiled at Jessie, and Jessie suddenly broke into a goofy smile. Nita found herself embraced in a typical Jessie hug- tight, squeezing, and very very warm. Since this kind of immobilised her arms, Nita could not exactly hug back, so she settled for patting Jessie's arm.  
"What is this? Are you excluding me from a hug?" Someone demanded. Leon squeezed his way into her line of sight, face full of mock hurt. Jessie laughed, releasing one arm to invite Leon in, and Nita took that opportunity to ensure her arm was free. Leon happily entered the little circle, and Nita found that Leon's hugs were around the same caliber as Jessie's. It was every bit as tight and full of love, and the duo hug assault made her lose her breath. She was filled with a warm sense of love and being wanted, somewhere she belonged, and she never wanted to lose it.  
"Anyway, guess what, Nita?" Leon beamed, pulling away as best as he could before Jessie decided to let go. Nita shrugged. How would she know what Leon wanted her to guess? Unless he wanted to hear her extremely optimistic opinion that hellfire and chaos was about to rain down and destroy them all, she had nothing.  
"We're free!" Leon shouted jubilantly. He even punched the air to express his glee. There was a long silence after that, as Jessie and Leon looked at her expectantly, and she just stared back blankly. Yes, she could see that they were free and out of the village, but how long would there really be before they were hunted down? Leon's smile slowly faded, and now he looked sadder.  
"...you don't get it, do you? We're finally free to go to the forest when we want to," Leon said. Nita took a full minute to process and understand that statement, and not because her thinking was dulled. Such fantasies were unbelievable.  
"Would you believe me instead?" Someone interjected. Nita whirled around, and increased the distance between herself and Colt by three steps without even thinking. How did he keep appearing? Now that her thinking was cleared up, she definitely remembered him appearing in the midst of her fever fogged memories as well. She snarled at him, cursing herself for letting her guard down.  
"Look, I get it. But now that we understand the full situation, I can safely say we all agree you guys should come and go as you like, as long as you come back. Isn't this what you want, Nita?" Colt pointed out reasonably. Nita glared at him. She had to admit that if there was really a consensus that let her run off to the forest anytime she wanted, it was one that was extremely favourable for her. She flicked her gaze to Leon, and found him shuffling his feet in an embarrassed manner. He chewed on a lollipop in his mouth, that lollipop quickly becoming a common sight with Leon. Had he told them, and actually got them to listen to him? She peered at Colt, then put a hand over her heart. Colt replicated the action.  
"I swear," he said seriously, maintaining eye contact, and Nita found nothing in his eyes that contradicted what he said. She took a small step forward, then another. Then she broke into a run, flinging her arms around the startled sheriff.  
"Aank oou," she breathed, gratitude clear in her voice, although she pulled away before he could hug her back. She was not quite ready for a proper hug. She beamed at Jessie and Leon, of which Leon beamed back. Jessie seemed to experience a moment of shock, before she broke into a wide, wide smile, eyes happy slits. A single tear gathered and rolled down her pinking cheeks.  
"Sis," she sobbed, "you're back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end was absolute cringe, but otherwise, I love this chapter. It establishes a lot, honestly.  
> Leon is currently having a guilt moment of exactly how useful he was compared to Jessie throughout the whole Save Nita Operation, but Nita thinks the world of both Leon and Jessie, so she interprets some things wrongly. The Save Nita Operation is coming next chapter, by the way. As in next week extra chapter which I honestly wrote too long and I love too much and makes me very sorry to all you Jessie lovers. Please forgive me.  
> Feel free to ask questions, guys! We have more or less uncovered the plot, and I know some of you(cough cough Eturnal cough cough) is not on the right track. Sooo...


End file.
